


He Fell From the Stars

by Pandsiebo



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Egoraptor is an Alien with a sad background, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Suzy is a human with also a sadish background, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 24,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23675017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandsiebo/pseuds/Pandsiebo
Summary: Suzy Berhow lived in the kingdom of Jyriam, a small kingdom on an island that could barely sustain it. She had been searching her whole life for something new, or someone to help her find it.Maybe that someone is a strange man with even stranger features, with a heart as bright as the stars in the sky.(Alternatively: Egoraptor is a futuristic space-faring alien, and Suzy is an adorable Victorian-era woman. They meet and fall in love)
Relationships: Suzy Berhow/Arin Hanson
Comments: 18
Kudos: 16





	1. Wishing

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: strong language

Suzy Berhow was in no way a normal woman. It didn't take very long after meeting her to suspect that, and many people voiced it to her, calling her things like 'Witch' and 'Whore'.

For one thing, was the makeup. She enjoyed wearing more makeup than normal ladies in the kingdom did, loving the way her eyes looked when she ringed them with the black paint. Many men did not like it.

Another thing was her clothes. She prefered her corsets a little shorter and tighter, and tied up the front of her skirts to be to her knees instead of to the floor. Men didn't mind this as much, they just minded that it was always black. Women gossiped.

When you got to know her, it got a little more extreme. At night, she was an 'Alewife', serving drinks at the Inn she had been staying at. During the day, she did taxidermy for friends. They paid to give her an animal, and she'd stuff it for them.

The combination of all of this had earned her the name 'Table Flip Witch'. 

_ Table Flip _ was the name of the tavern part of the Inn. It got its name from abundant table-upsetting fights. The fights have since slowed, but they still happened sometimes.

The inn was run by her good friend Barry, and helped along by the lodgers he was hosting. Ross, Holly, and her, Suzy.

They were good friends, accepting her quirkyness while providing some of their own. It was nice, and Suzy was glad to have found a family in this big strange world.

Sometimes though, when the candle light faded from her room, and she looked at the big, bright moon, she wished so desperately for something  _ else. _ Something that wasn't this, no matter how much she loved her friends and her jobs.

The moon didn't respond to her desperate wishing. She didn't expect it to.


	2. Rude Awakening

Egoraptor loved his ship. He spent a lot of time making it perfect. Perfection being bright pink, sleek, fast, and tough. He loved traversing the stars, seeing the sights, the empty blackness and the galaxies in between.

He took up jobs here and there, just whatever he found interesting at the time. He did tend to avoid anything to do with violence, like kill-only bounties.

On occasion, he'd go on wonderful adventures with his friends Danny Sexbang and Ninja Brian. But aside from that, he was alone. Just him, his two-person ship, and the big, empty mansion on an asteroid that he barely visited.

The mansion was just a big reminder that Ego was really alone. Danny was mostly with Ninja Brian, and Ego never clicked with anyone enough to go through the effort of the friendship. It was hard being close friends with someone you didn't share a planet with.

Right now, he wasn't that alone. He was asleep in the bunk on his ship, snoring away and dreaming.

' _A crowded street, a young boy running through the people. Two fluffy animal-like ears on either side of his head were twitching this way and that. He was nervous about something. He had a thin, equally as furry tail, flicking with the nerves as well._

_He ran and ran, clutching something tight to his chest. It was a little toy. His dark purple eyes darted this way and that as he crawled through a whole in a fence, getting into an alleyway. In the alley was a little girl, smaller than he was._

_'Here! I got it back!'_

_'Ego, they're going to be so mad!'_

_Egoraptor gave a sideways grin. 'That's my problem. Just try not to let those bullies see it again, okay?'_

_Hearing the wooden fence rattle, the girl nodded and went back through a door in the alley._

_Egoraptor backed himself into the corner of the alleyway, clenching his fists as two larger boys hopped the fence and glared at him. They looked similar. Different shape of ears, and different color fur and hair, but same race._

_They sprung, ready to attack-_

With a scream, Egoraptor fell out of his bunk, tangled in his mess of blankets. It took him a swearing-filled moment to detangle himself and figure out what was going on. A beeping noise filled his ship, bouncing all the way from the cockpit to the bunks.

With more cursing, he rushed to the cockpit, barely avoiding multiple walls, and slammed himself into the captain's chair.

The source of the beeping noise was being projected onto his windshield, a star symbol in the middle of a blue rectangle. Groaning, he rubbed a hand down his face. Danny Sexbang was calling him, when he thought it was a warning signal.

He pressed a button on the control board, answering the call.

"Hey Ego! Wha…" Danny started giggling. "Did we wake you, oh great warrior?"

Ego could see his camera view in a small box by the steering, and this was definitely what Danny was laughing at. His hair was a mess, strands falling over his ears and face.

The little fluff on his ear was in bunches, rather than falling flat like normal. He ran his hands over the ears and his hair, trying to tame it all.

"Yes, you did wake me, and you've got like five seconds to tell me why before I go back to sleep."

"Me and Bri-" When his name was mentioned, Brian shoved his middle finger jnto view of the camera, slamming it into Danny's face, who ignored him. "-Found a fun little island on Earth, sometime in the 1800's, and thought it'd be fun to dick around there."

"Seriously?" Ego fixed the camera with the best glare he could.

"Yeah! Their king died or something, so I really wanna become king, and Brian wants to play pirate-" Danny dodged a knife to the head, ducking out of sight for a second "-And you can join one of us! What do you think?"

Arin rubbed his eyes, thinking. He probably had victorian era clothes around here somewhere, or he could just buy some. He also didn't really have anything else to do.

"Ugh. Fine. Send me your co-ords and I'll fly over after I get dressed."

Danny fist pumped, hissing out 'yesss,' and hung up. A second later the holographic rectangle popped up again, this time a star map with a blinking dot on it.

He sighed heavily and slumped in his chair, tilting his head back. After a second, he got up, grumbling about being woken up so soon. 

Ending up back at his bunk, Egoraptor tried to recall his dream. He stole something to give back to someone, and got beat up for it. That was something that happened a lot as a kid. 

Now, though, he managed to avoid most violence. The bounty jobs were just for the money. 

He stripped out of his sleeping clothes, taking a fast shower before throwing on his bodysuit. It was a thin, yet durable material that was pink and white, just for wearing around, and meant to be covered in armor. It had tech built in, allowing for sped up healing, warmth or cooling, and on occasion, invisibilty. Very handy, but also annoyingly complicating to trigger invisibility.

Finding his 'Earth Clothes' chest in storage, he rifled through it, pulling out what could pass as Victorian era style.

If he needed anything else, he'd just buy it, or get Danny to buy it for him.

He threw the thick clothes over the body suit, finding a leather satchel in the chest as well. He filled the satchel with a few necessities, his lazer gun, an emergency warp to get back to his ship, and a special plant that, when eaten, can make him look more human. 

His friend Lord Phobos from TWRP had made it after they all started spending more time on earth. Very handy, but a little uncomfortable to feel his ears and tail without seeing them.

Taking final inventory of his things and his clothes, he found his way back into his captain's chair and sat back down. Buckling himself in, he closed his eyes and sighed, reveling in the familiar feeling of the ship under his hands.

With expert skill, his ship was sent flying, blasting off into the cosmos. Luckily, he wasn't too far away from the NinjaSexParty ship, and was sidled up to the blue ship after a minute. They were hovered near earth, already in the right time.

He made sure his ship would be in orbit for a while, and powered mostly off, then gathered up his things. He warped to NinjaSexParty's ship without a warning, feeling they deserved to get surprised.

Danny gasped and leapt out of his seat when Egoraptor appeared, Brian just glared.

After recovering, Danny went up and they hugged.

Danny had changed out of his normal attire to a more noble look, with metal armor and the works. He really was decked out, and had probably put a lot of thought into this. The 'this' being taking over a kingdom to bang as many girls as he could. His noble look was color coded to what he normally wore.

Even Ninja Brian stepped it up, with a pirate captain's costume over his mask, and maybe over his ninja suit as well.

Danny sat back in his seat, rambling about some plan Egoraptor didn't care all that much about. Ego was just going to be one of the people, not a noble. He liked people watching. Humans were a really interesting race.

They began descending to the little kingdom, the ship cloaked to avoid panic. As they were descending, Danny called out the time and date. It was April 17th, 1833, 6:34 pm.

Egoraptor huffed, knowing that since he woke up less than an hour ago, his sleep schedule was going to be very off.

They managed to park on a rocky cliff where no one would run into the ship, and almost immediately, Brian disappeared in a puff of smoke to find a pirate ship.

Danny looked over his shoulder at Egoraptor, a little concern in his eyes. "You sure you don't wanna play king with me? Or some kind of royalty?"

"I'll be fine! I'm just going to go about the town." Ego adjusted his clothing, making sure it was right and covered his body suit. He didn't like the dark colors as much.

"I mean, alright, i'm just a little worried that, I dunno, you might get… lonely, or something!"

Ego stopped in his tracks, then turned to Danny with wide eyes. "Did you invite me because you think I'm lonely!?"

"No! Yes! Maybe!" Danny also stood up, not liking being loomed over. It didn't help much, Ego was still taller and bigger than him.

He glared at Danny, but couldn't help the giggle passing his lips. "I, your _highness_ , am just fine! Maybe I'll resist making friends just to spite you." 

Danny laughed, tossing a bag of various period-accurate coins at him. "If you say so! I'll be keeping an eye on you." He then pushed Ego into the warp pod, and shut it.

Ego rolled his eyes and dropped the bag into his satchel, trusting Danny not to send him somewhere stupid or dangerous.

His trust was well placed, and he ended up behind some buildings near the ship, but not in the castle walls. He flipped up his hood on the cloak he was wearing, not bothering to eat a piece of the fruit in his bag. He could eat it later.

With a deep breath of fresh, but slightly smelly air, he stepped out from behind the houses with a mental list of what to do before sundown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He basically looks the same, but is taller, more built, has animal ears, a tail, and dark purple eyes.


	3. Gossip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four Inn residents gossip about new things around town while preparing to run the tavern

Smoothing her skirts, Suzy walked down the stairs into the tavern part of the Inn. She had spent nearly the whole day doing her taxidermy, and was getting prepared to serve drinks for the second half of the night.

Down in the tavern, Barry was cleaning mugs and preparing drinks for the late night rush. Holly was sitting at the bar, writing in a thick leather-bound journal, and Ross was wiping down unoccupied tables.

Barry looked up at her when he noticed her enter the tavern, smiling kindly.

"Hello, Suzy! I haven't seen you all day, you've been working hard?"

She nodded, trying to return the smile. "Yes. I finally got that cat ready for stuffing! It should be done in a few days."

She sat next to Holly at the bar. 

"Any more news about the new king?" Suzy asked, curious about their new ruler.

Ross spoke up from the other end of the room. "He's holding a nobles only ball at the end of the week. It makes sense, he's been here a few days already. A celebration is expected."

Holly twirled her quill in her hands. "How is he related to the late-king again?"

They all shrugged. Holly sighed. "It was something absurd, I know that."

"As long as he doesn't interfere with my Inn, I don't bother with those affairs." Barry threw the rag over his shoulder and crossed the room, going to light some candles, as it was getting darker out.

Ross walked up during that, leaning between Holly and Suzy. Holly spoke to him, her voice quiet and conspiratorial. "I think it's too late for that."

Suzy laughed, and Ross rolled his eyes.

"How many times do we have to go through this, he is  _ not  _ the king's personal warlock." Barry walked back over to the bar. "He's a well paying customer-"

"One that commonly keeps his head a face covered with his cloak, orders a single lemonade every night, stares out the window, and fills the building with a strange energy." Holly shut her book and narrowed her eyes at them all.

Suzy laughed more, barely trying to stifle her giggles. This was the third time they had this argument. "Just because he looks a tad… brutish doesn't make him a warlock," she reasoned.

Ross shrugged again. "I dunno, he has only been showing up since the new king was announced. Every night, five days in a row. Maybe a sixth, if he shows up tonight."

"He is not some supernatural entity. We are a ways away from the castle, so why would he travel all the way down here if he worked for the king?"

Getting out of her seat, Suzy went to collect the cloth she used to tie her hair back during work hours. The 'he' they kept arguing over was indeed a strange man. Large, with a cloak that covered his face most of the time.

He had it uncovered the first night he showed up, and was quite a sight. His hair was longer than fashionable, tied tightly to the back of his head. His face was round, and… rugged. Rugged seemed the only way to describe it. 

He had indeed been showing up consistently for a few nights, yet no one knew him. Suzy and the other lodgers didn't make an effort to try, afraid it would result in another flipped table. Though she'd never admit it, lest Holly find more reason to dislike the man, Suzy did find something off putting about him.

A brief thought crossed through her mind while tying the cloth around her hair. A thought of the legends she was told as a child, about Werewolves and other creatures of the shadows.

She shook it off as she heard the door open, a customer entering the tavern. Those were just silly legends, nothing more. Though, maybe it wouldn't hurt for her to ask Holly about the legends. Just in case there  _ was  _ indeed a Werewolf around.

Leaving the kitchen, she picked up the metal tray she used to carry drinks and set about tending to the customers at the tables. All usual customers, fixing her with glares and cautionary glances.

Everyone knew her as the Table Flip Witch, but enjoyed Barry's ale a little too much to cause problems while in the inn. She’d grown used to their whispers and scowls, and could work through it.

The rest of the night passed with hearty chatter, one near table flip, and good drinks. It was a busy night, people bustling in and out. Towards the later end of the night, nearly closing time, the strange man appeared.. 

He didn't silence conversations, but the tavern-goers spared curious glances his way, not used to seeing anyone new on this tiny island. He found his way to the table by the window, his heavy feet making barely any noise upon the wooden floor. Somehow, even avoiding all of the creaky boards, of which there were a lot.

When he sat down, Suzy hesitated before going to get his drink request. She hesitated every night, but never let that stop her. She walked up, her boots making more noise against the floor than his had. Suzy might have tried to make more noise to avoid startling him, due to his gaze being fixed out the window, but she’d never admit it.

“Hello. Can I get you a drink?” She tried to keep her tone steady, his head moving under that cloak to look at her. She fixed her eyes where she assumed his were, only being able to see his mouth and beard-covered chin from here. It was an unusual facial hair style, some part of her noted.

“Yes. Lemonade, please?” His tone was soft, and expressive. 

She wouldn’t mind if he spoke more, Suzy decided. She nodded and walked back to Barry, weaving between the tables. Barry already had a lemonade waiting, and handed it off with a nod. She didn’t bother setting it on her tray, and carried the glass past the few other patrons and back to the cloaked man. 

The whole scene was filling her with a sense of dejavu, having done this same thing the past five days already. She could feel Holly watching both her and the strange man. Maybe she could try something a little different, just to get to the bottom of this mysterious man.

He looked up at her when she got back, like he knew she was thinking of disrupting their little routine. He normally let his eyes drift back out the window, mind being taken by faeries to an unknown world. She didn’t let that unsettle her. 

Instead of setting the drink on the table, she smiled with what warmth she could muster and held it out to him. “Here you are.”

He seemed a little surprised at the change in routine,his lips turning down the barest hint. Suzy suspected that if she could see his whole face, his eyebrows would be up. His surprise didn’t last, being taken by a pleasant smile. Not menacing or forced, not the kind of smile a werewolf would use to grin at its prey, just a kind smile from a normal man. He took the drink from Suzy, his fingers warm against her much smaller hands.

“Thank you.” His words, though being the repeated thing he said the other nights, seemed just a little more sincere. 

She gave a little curtsy, as was routine, and slipped back to the bar, trying not to skip or bounce. 

Holly leaned close to her when she got back. “What was that? Why was he looking at you? What did he do? Did he use evil magic on you?” Holly’s voice was a harsh whisper, her eyes filled with concern.

Suzy pushed her shoulder, smile having never left her face. “He  _ isn’t _ a warlock, Holly. I just gave him his drink, and he said thank you. He just so happened to be looking at me, nothing strange.”

Holly pursed her lips. “Can I cleanse your room, just in case?”

“If it makes you calm down, you may. Just do not touch the cat.”

Holly, unlike Suzy, actually dabbled in the occult. She wasn't a witch, she was a herbalist. Somehow, though, she did not get labeled the ‘Table Flip Witch’, despite being there longer.

Suzy found her eyes drifting back to the man in the back, sipping his lemonade and staring out the window. He had a leatherbound book open in front of him, thinking of things only known to him. Compared to the loud, laughing patrons lingering at some of the other tables, he was definitely different. Maybe different was a good thing.


	4. Poor Egoraptor is Falling in Love, Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Egoraptor falls in love over the passing of the week

The kingdom, Egoraptor soon found out, was  _ tiny _ . Even smaller than it looked from above, at least in terms of non-residential areas. The first day didn’t hold much in the way of things to do. No reason to try and correct his very offset sleep schedule. He arrived at an inn, paying for a room for a few days, as the sun was setting. Only a few hours after he woke up, making him bound to stay away the whole night.

Not seeing much else to do on this little island, he decided to try and map out the whole kingdom. He walked around the whole night in the dying light of the fire-lit lamps outside of buildings. 

There was something Egoraptor appreciated about the night on earth. The quiet of humans asleep in their beds, his sensitive Faemik ears picking up near-silent snores as he walked by houses. It was especially easy in this time period, the familiar hum of machinery absent from the air, the artificial lights nowhere to be seen. Just little fires, and quiet humans.

If it weren't for the lack of technology, and the human noises, this little town would remind Egoraptor a lot more of where he grew up. The crowded buildings, dirty streets, an identical aesthetic.

He managed to graph almost the whole kingdom by the time the sun came up, and slept through Danny’s crowning into being king the second afternoon. When the sun started going down the second night, he finished up his map, the final building being a small inn. It was smaller and worse for wear than the one he was staying at, the tavern probably backwater and serving more ruffians than the one closer to the castle. The sign sticking out from above the door read, ‘Table Flip’. 

He debated going in, listening intently to the abundant chatter coming from within. He’d already eaten some of that weird fruit, and his ears and tail were absent, his eyes a normal 

shade of brown. It was rather nice, for being on the tough side of town. Not seeing what else there was to do at this time of night, Egoraptor walked up.

The heavy wooden door had a sign on it, labeling the same name. He pushed it open, greeted with the warmth and light of a fire, the smell of alcohol, and a sharp increase in the volume of the talking.

It was a nice place, and it only took him a day to figure out passable tavern-etiquette. The owner was likely the man behind the bar, with a round face and scruffy beard. The waitress- 'Alewife' or whatever- stood out more than the owner _. _ She was fairly petit, her long black hair falling over a white cloth she was using to keep her hair back. Her skirt and corset matched, a solid black color, with embroidered designs and lace.

Something about her caught Egos attention. Not the way she looked, it was something else. Maybe it was the way she held herself, confident in her choices. Maybe it was the fact the tavern goers never met her eyes. Maybe Egoraptor  _ was _ just lonely. 

Whatever it was, Egoraptor couldn't help but go back, try to figure it out. He never realised he was going back until he was pushing open the heavy wooden door, greeted to the sound and sights of the bar.

It had become a schedule at this point. He'd visit Danny almost as soon as he woke up, before the castle was closed to the public. They'd make idle chat. Being a king was awfully time consuming. 

Then, he'd wander the town, always ending up at the Inn at some point.

Each night, he tried not to look at the waitress. He had no reason to grow attached to this little island in the sea. No reason to grow attached to this Victorian age tavern. He wasn't  _ meant _ to grow attached to these things, a place that looked so much like home.

One night, something changed. A big test to his spite.

He went to the bar, sitting down at the table by the window. He hadn't bothered eating the strange fruit, meaning his cloak was on, hood covering his eyes and ears. 

The alewife walked up. It was nearly as soon as he sat down. Egoraptor, out of habit, turned and looked up. Looking people in the eyes was a type of intimacy Egoraptor had been avoiding until now. 

He looked up, into the eyes of the mysterious and intriguing woman. He nearly choked on his own air, barely managing to remain calm.

Her eyes were shining. Some unnameable color, ringed by dark eyeliner. Did Victorian age women have eyeliner? Apparently this one did. Her eyes held some spark that made Egoraptor hesitant to look away.

"Hello. Can I get you a drink?" Her voice was high, sweet. 

Managing to keep his tone steady, he replied. "Yes. Lemonade, please?" A lemonade, like every night before. 

She nodded, breaking their gaze, and turned to walk back to the bar. Egoraptor looked back out the window, fighting back the rising warmth in his chest.

She returned soon. Finding it impolite at this point to avoid her eyes, Egoraptor looked back at her.

The woman held out his drink, speaking in the same sweet voice. "Here you are." Then, she  _ smiled. _ It most definitely caught Egoraptor off guard.

Returning the gentle smile, he took the drink from her hands, not able to tear his eyes away from hers. "Thank you." Was he thanking her for the drink, or the wonderful smile? Who knew.

She went away again. Ego watched her go before looking into his lemonade, trying desperately to cling to the feeling of her hands against his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to clarify, Faemik is Egoraptors race, if you didn't catch that


	5. Suzy's Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suzy has a very bad day! It gets better when she makes a new friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some violence and strong language!

Suzy's day had been a little bit of a disaster. She woke up late, nearly noon, to Barry knocking on her door and asking for help cleaning up the bar. It was Sunday, meaning the Tavern was closed tonight, and they'd deep clean the Tavern for the following week.

Being the nice person she is, she got dressed right away and made her way downstairs. Holly and Ross were out, probably at the beach-side market. On Sunday, ships came in from the mainland to sell their wares.

Holly and Ross didn't arrive until mid-afternoon with everything they bought. By that time, Barry and Suzy still hadn't finished. Suzy just kept knocking things over, not cleaning to Barry's standards. She'd think, having been here over two years, she'd have gotten the hang of this by now.

She wasn't even sure why she was being so clumsy! Normally, Suzy could hold herself with as much grace and care as other ladies, even if it wasn't always her style.

Holly made them lunch in the kitchen, with food they bought from the market. Ross unloaded everything else they bought, putting it all where it belonged.

They had rented a cart to carry everything, and Barry had to go help Ross carry in some things, leaving Suzy to finish cleaning all on her own. She barely managed to finish cleaning to a decent standard by the time the food was done cooking and the boys had unloaded everything.

They ate calmly, making idle chat. Suzy denied her clumsiness being a result of the man from last night cursing her.

Finally, as the sun was making its long descent on the horizon, she made her way upstairs, fully intent on reading for the rest of the night. After her rushed morning, a nice book, and maybe some tea-time with Holly sounded wonderful.

In her bedroom, she lit the candle in her lamp on the desk. Next to it, the stuffed cat she had finished, and the letter, detailing what the commissioner had wanted. They were in town, so it wasn't too much trouble to make and deliver.

On a whim, she re-read the letter, making sure she had done it right, sure she'd have time to fix anything before she had to deliver it.

But alas, the universe, the gods up above,  _ something _ had decided to make her day worse. She was supposed to deliver this cat  _ today _ . Groaning in annoyance, she changed into her going-out clothes. There was still some sunlight, likely enough to deliver this by night.

She packed the cat into a wicker basket, along with the letter. She then covered both with a small blanket.

It was warm that day, so she didn't bother with a cloak. Downstairs, Barry and Ross were cleaning up dinner, giving her strange looks as she was passing them.

"Where you off to, Suzy?" Ross eyed the basket in her arms with curiousness on his imp-like features.

"I was supposed to deliver the cat today! So i'm off to do it now. I won't be long."

"Oh, want me to join you? It's getting late."

She shook her head, smiling. "It's not that late. Besides, you spent all day out and about. I can handle this. Goodbye!"

The heavy wooden door creaked in protest with her pushing on it, and soon, Suzy was walking down the pleasantly warm streets. The address, unfortunately enough, was on the far side of the kingdom, by the castle.

Following the main, winding roads, she was making good time through the neighborhoods. She was pleased, and a little out of breath, when she reached the house by night fall.

It was one of the more expensive houses. The closer to the kingdom you got, the bigger and more grand the houses. This house was her  _ dream _ . Something she was saving up for. Large, traditional style, with beautiful decor.

The man inside wasn't too peeved to be bothered this late at night, thankfully. He accepted the taxidermied cat and paid full, even throwing in a bouquet of dark colored flowers that Suzy couldn't name. Holly probably knew.

The pouch they gave her was heavy, it was a large amount of money, and would set Suzy up for a lot of the future.

From a professional standpoint, it was a lot of money for just  _ one _ little house cat she barely delivered on time. As the one receiving the money, Suzy wasn't complaining.

Walking home, Suzy's path was lit only with the lamps lining the streets, and the moon overhead. It was getting quiet, the sound of the waves crashing on rocks filling the air, as opposed to the chatter of the other kingdom residents.

She felt calm washing over her, a peace that she had been swarmed by the chaos of today. Maybe she could finally get home and rest, or sleep. Not how she planned to spend her day off, that was for sure.

Stopping in place, she was hit with some familiarity. If she remembered right, there was an alley near here that Ross had showed her a while ago, a shortcut. Suzy just couldn't remember exactly where it was. She could guess.

With a little more care in her steps, she passed into a dark pathway between buildings. It was longer than she remembered, but she hadn't been to this side of town for a while.

A voice from behind her startled the silence of the night. "Hey, it's the Table Flip Witch."

Whipping around, she saw two unkempt, and dangerous looking, men. She recognised them from the Tavern. They caused- and won- the most table flips. Wasn't there a third in their posse? Turning back the way she was going confirmed that there was another. Now, blocking her way.

The alley was quite wide, but Suzy doubted she could pass by any of them. 

Fear started crawling up her throat. Seriously? This was likely the  _ worst day ever _ .

"Where you sneaking off to this time of night, witch?" One asked, creeping closer.

"I had to run an errand for the tavern." That seemed like a safe lie.

"So you wouldn't mind if we checked that basket of yours?" One of them grabbed the basket off her arm, the wood handle leaning a scrape from the way he grabbed it. 

She reached to grab it back, but the man behind her grabbed her shoulders and threw her to the ground. They upended her basket onto the ground, the flowers, the pouch of money, and the blanket all spilling onto the dirty ground.

"Bet she'd gonna use those flowers for a witch's brew, poison our ale!" The one that threw her had said.

They started stomping the flowers and blanket, she was on the verge of tears, and didn't trust herself to shout without crying.

One picked up the bag of money. "Did someone pay you for some fuckin' voodoo? Let's take this out of her hands, stop her witchery. Maybe teach you a lesson while we're at it."

They turned to her with aggressive sneers, yet she couldn't force herself to move and run away.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Startled from their aggression, they turned and looked to the mouth of the alley. There, barely lit by the light of the street lamps, was the strange man from the Tavern. His cloak was over his head still, and his arms were crossed over his chest, and his mouth in a firm line.

The one holding the money bag tied it to his belt, definitely not intending to back down. 

"If you know what's good for you,  _ foreigner _ , you'll stay out of this. This whore is dangerous, and deserves to be roughed up. Back off or you'll join her."

Chuckling without humor, the cloaked man teetered a little, leaning to see where Suzy was on the ground. 

With a sideways grin, one that held no gentle feelings or kindness, he stepped closer to the other men. "All I see is a defenseless young woman that you're harassing. I'm not leaving, and if you have a problem with that, I'd like to see you try and do something about it."

Suzy wanted to shout for this man to go. This was her problem, not his. All she could do was shake her head.

The three men drew knives. The cloaked one did not. The grin never left his face, and they charged. 

Suzy yelled this time, shouting something her ears did not pick up.

In almost no time, however, all three thugs were laying on the ground groaning in pain. The cloaked man was still up, hood off and brown eyes hard with a glare. Their knives were at his feet, having been dropped right away.

With one hand, he grabbed one of them by the shirt and lifted him off the ground enough to stare him in the eyes.

"Get your friends and  _ leave _ . Don't ever harass this young lady again, or I won't be so gentle."

They scrambled up and left the alley, panicked. The man watched them go with narrowed eyes and crossed arms. He watched them, even when he couldn not see them, for a few moments, then turned to Suzy.

His face softened immediately, and he smiled with kindness, and worry. "Are you okay?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes… I think so, anyway." Suzy couldn't help her wavering voice.

He didn't seem to notice and walked over, crouching in front of her, frown on his face.

"You're hurt." He pulled a handkerchief out of his shirt pocket and folded it into a strip, holding it out. "May I?"

Holding out her arm, Suzy watched him tie the cloth around her scraped arm with far more care than she was expecting. She'd deny being disappointed when his warm hands left her arm.

"Thank you." She looked into his eyes, trying to put as much sincerity as possible into her words.

He laughed, genuinely this time, shaking his head. His laugh was rather nice. "I'm just happy to help. No need to thank me. Oh, here." He pulled her pouch of money out of his cloak, placing it into her hands.

Leaving no room for her to thank him again for getting her money back, he stood and held out his hand to help her up. She accepted, and let him help her up.

They didn't let go right away. Instead, a little closer than was expected, they stared eye-to-eye. The man gave a curious smile, face very expressive.

"You have a name, miss?"

Looking away, Suzy nodded. "Uh, yes! I mean, I'm Suzy. Suzy Berhow."

"Lovely to meet you, Suzy. I'm Egoraptor Hanson. Most people just call me Ego."

She tilted her head, bemused. "That's a strange name. But I don't mind it! It's just new, that's all. It's lovely to meet you too, Ego."

Ego laughed again, and they fell into silence. It was strange, just looking into each other's eyes again. Suzy was vaguely aware of Egoraptor's thumb drawing circles over the top of her hands. She didn't dare look, for fear the moment would be over when their gaze broke.

It wasn't meant to last, and Egoraptor stepped away- far too soon in Suzy's opinion. He went and picked up her basket, Shaking out the blanket on the ground and tucking it inside. 

"Would you like me to walk you home Suzy? In case those assholes try to start a fight again?"

Suzy had never heard anyone referred to by that name, and assumed 'assholes' was a curse from Egoraptor's tone of voice.

"That would be very nice, are you sure it's no trouble? I wouldn't want to take up too much of your time." She rubbed her arm, a little afraid he'd agree and leave her there. Instead, she was met with a wide and brilliant smile.

"Nonsense! If I didn't want to use my time like this, I'd have just stayed home." He held out her basket, practically radiating light and kindness. 

She took the basket and hooked it on her uninjured arm, unable to contain her own smile. 

"So where to, Suzy?"

"The Table Flip inn. I think it's this way." She looked the way she had been trying to go, but wasn't sure. Egoraptor started forwards, gesturing to follow.

"Not quite, but I know a shortcut from here." He winked mischievously, and they set off through the narrow path. Between houses, through the back streets that Suzy would normally be too afraid to traverse. 

At one point, a stiff wind blew through the air, reminding Suzy she hadn't bothered to wear anything to cover herself, thinking it would still be warm. Without a word, Egoraptor removed his jacket from underneath his cloak, and placed it over Suzy's shoulders. It was pleasantly warm, and big enough to cover her arms.

She fought back the rising blush in her face, holding onto the jacket with one hand. Egoraptor kept going, unaffected by the suggested intimacy of lending a jacket.

"Almost there, up here."

He helped her climb up a short stone wall between houses, one nearly as tall at her. She didn't need help climbing it, and he didn't seem to offer. However, Suzy didn't miss his impressed little smile.

Soon after, they were close to the Inn, in objectively less time than it had taken to cross town. 

"Here you are, Suzy. I'll leave you to your night." Egoraptor gestured at the building, the lights still in the windows.

"Thank you, so much again. Sorry for taking up so much of your night." She laughed a little, turning towards him instead of the bar.

"Nuh-uh! Don't apologise. You actually helped make my night interesting, and a lot less… lonely. I don't… really sleep at night- insomnia, you see. So I would have been bored to death if I hadn't met you."

"Oh, I understand. Happens to me all the time." She nodded in understanding.

He gave an excited smile, big brown eyes twinkling. "Maybe we can meet again then. Late night walks are a very good way to deal with insomnia, after all."

"I'd love that! Till we meet again, Ego." She gave a small curtsy, fully joking.

He returned the gesture with a short bow, eyes locked on hers again. "Till we meet again."

With that, he turned and disappeared into the darkness of the streets, as if he was never there in the first place. 


	6. Late Night Walks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Egoraptor and Suzy go on a little walk!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wasn't as long as i wanted, but i'm being hit hard with the Quarantine vibes and gotta write where the vibes take me. Enjoy!

It wasn't until two days later that Suzy saw Egoraptor again. She hadn't mentioned her encounter to anyone, going so far as to hide his jacket under her bed in her room. 

The thugs that attacked her hadn't shown up to the tavern, either. This wasn't that much of a loss for anyone, and Suzy was glad they were taking their barbaric tendencies elsewhere.

Part of her, though, wishes she saw them somewhere again, at least once. Because then, she'd have more proof than a jacket and a scrape that the encounter happened. Suzy wanted to meet Ego again, and clutched desperately to the feeling he gave her. It wasn't quite a fancy, but felt as if it should be. She stared out her window, the light long gone, and slept nowhere to be found. 

In the sky, stars glistened against the inky swirly of the night sky. Suzy could just barely see them from her window.

Would the stars know what happened to Ego? Where he had gone? He hadn't been back to collect his jacket, or to the tavern for a drink.

Her eyes drifted away from the window, tracing the seams of the jacket she held tight in her arms. Did the event even occur, she wondered. If it did, did he stop coming because of something  _ she  _ did? 

Before her mind could drift too far away into familiar lonely frustration, something hit the wood of the window. A loud and sharp tap that startled her out of her reverie, head shooting up. 

It wasn't a bird that hit her window, she didn't think. They didn't fly at this time of night. Maybe a little bat she'd seen flying around, but she'd have seen it before it hit the window.

Leaning closer to the glass, she looked along the street. There, underneath one of the few still-burning street lights, was Egoraptor himself. He grinned when he met Suzy's eyes, raising a hand in greeting.

It took a second for her brain to catch up, and she pushed open the creaking glass of her window, leaning out. Egoraptor trotted closer to the building. His hood was off, and Suzy could see a cut across his cheek in the dim light. 

"Well good evening to you, fair lady… or something like that." He chuckled just loud enough for her to hear.

"Ego… What are you  _ doing  _ here?" Suzy whisper-yelled out her window down to Egoraptor. "It's so late!"

He shrugged and flipped his cloak about. "Well, I was in the neighborhood. Besides, you're still awake, so you have nothing to say about it being late."

She sighed, frowning. "I suppose that's true. However, I'm at home. Where are you headed in the dead of night?" It was a little peculiar, Suzy thought. For him to just disappear for a few days then show up out of the blue like this, in the dead of night.

More peculiar was the little grin he directed at her, voice laced with enthusiasm. "Hmm… Depends," he stated, tapping a finger against his chin.

"Depends? On what?" She tried not to smile back at him, wanting to be upset at his disappearing.

"On whether or not you'd like to go on a walk with me." 

This took Suzy off guard, and she thought about her answer for a second. "Oh. If I say no?"

Suzy didn't miss the slight deflation in his attitude, despite his smile being unchanged. "Then I'll be heading back to my Inn."

"And if I say yes?"

"If you say yes, then I'm headed nowhere in particular." He accented this point by vaguely waving his hand to the side. "So, what do you say?"

Suzy already knew what she wanted to do, but felt as if she wasn't  _ supposed  _ to. Sneaking around in the dead of night was not something anyone -let alone ladies dressed in such dark colors- did. Especially with someone who was nearly a complete stranger!

However, looking down at his bright and round face, brown eyes shining without light, she couldn't help it.

"Alright."

She was a little shocked with how excited he became, gasping and clapping his hands together.

"Really?"

"Yes. I'll be right down, just a moment." Suzy shut the window and ducked back into her room, trying to change into day clothes as quickly as she could without being loud. Everyone else was likely asleep. She managed this with little difficulty, mostly because she didn't dress too properly. Ego didn't seem dressed too properly either, so Suzy hoped it would be fine.

Soon enough, Suzy was creeping downstairs and out the back door of the tavern. She first peeked out to confirm that Egoraptor was still waiting for her, then went entirely out and shut the door behind her.

Before she could forget, she held out his jacket. She brought it back outside, and had remembered a cover.

He took it gently from her hands. "Thanks, Suzy!" Ego draped the jacket over his satchel. It was weird that he was even carrying a satchel at this time of night.

Now that she was closer, Suzy could see the cut on his cheek better. It was fresh, barely healed. He also had another one above his eyebrow. 

He started talking, and she looked away, not wanting to be caught staring.

"So, where to?"

"You're the one who wanted to go on a walk, why are you asking me?" She crossed her arms, still trying to be upset with him.

His eyes went wide, and he gestured enthusiastically. "I was trying to be polite!"

They both broke down into giggles, neither able to be very serious for very long.

"Alright, alright, I know where to go. I'm just messing with you."

When they calmed down, Ego started walking down the road, gesturing for Suzy to follow.

The moon wasn't that bright, but Ego led them safely through the town with confidence. 

Suzy kept glancing over at Ego, growing ever more curious each time the dim lamps light over his face, highlighting the red marks. One of the times, she looked up and saw that Egoraptor had looked back, and their eyes met. He had one eyebrow raised in a curious glance.

Blushing furiously, Suzy looked back at the road. Did he notice her looking the whole time? He laughed, both easing her bad feelings and making her blush more.

"Something wrong, Suze?"

She was a little too flustered to notice the shortened name. "Well, I'm just curious where your injuries came from, that's all."

He laughed, loud and uncontained. "You  _ could  _ have just asked you know."

"I didn't know if it was something personal! I was trying not to be rude." Suzy put her hands on her hips, but smiled.

He was still giggling, and continued. "It is a little personal, I guess. I don't mind telling you though. Basically, I was down by the docks, and I got snatched by pirates."

The smile dropped from Suzy's face, and she stopped walking. She turned to Ego with disbelief. " _ You got captured by pirates _ ?"

He stopped too, surprise written on his face. "I mean… yeah. It wasn't a big deal though, just a misunderstanding." 

"What do you mean by  _ that _ ? How did you get away from them? Ego-" 

Egoraptor was laughing again, interrupting her. "Like I said, it wasn't a big deal. After I worked things out with the Captain, they just shoved me in a rowboat they stole and let me go." He started walking backwards, still talking. "Thank you for worrying about lil ole' me though."

Coming out of her shock, Suzy followed, slowly shaking her head and grinning to match Egoraptor. "You, good sir, are a very strange man."

He just laughed more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, he was kidnapped by Captain Ninja Brian and his crew, just for the sake of it


	7. Suzy Feels Bad Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suzy feels bad, Egoraptor helps best he can. He teaches her a little about himself. They both are very sad inside a lot. King Danny is finally mentioned, and is gonna get got

Now that Egoraptor was back from being kidnapped from pirates, (which he still avoided giving details about to Suzy), the nights were much less lonely.

He'd come to the tavern each night still, and act completely normal, ordering his lemonade and drinking it in silence. No one had yet to catch on that Suzy and him were talking to each other at night, going on walks through the town after everyone had already gone to sleep.

Suzy wasn't entirely sure why she kept agreeing to go out with Egoraptor. He was still almost entirely a stranger, and was surrounded with much more questions than answers. 

Could it be the strange feeling he gave off? The one that had Holly glaring at him from across the bar, insistent on cleansing the tavern each night to keep him 'at bay'. 

Whatever it was, she wasn't feeling it tonight. She still couldn't sleep, but had no desire to walk around town. The day had been full, the king had come around this neighborhood, even coming into the TableFlip Inn.

Suzy had her window closed, sitting in a chair she dragged over to her window. She was waiting for the now-familiar 'thunk' of a pebble against wood. Sure enough it came, making the bad feeling in Suzy's chest sink lower.

She pushed open the heavy window, dreading having to tell Egoraptor to leave. He always seemed so happy every time she agreed to go out, and she didn't want that bright smile of his to fall.

A gentle breeze blew through her window, making the candle on her desk dim and curl with risk of going out. It sent a chill down her bare arms that she didn't appreciate.

Down on the street, Egoraptor was waiting for her, dressed the same as normal, grin ever-present. 

"Good evening Suzy. Up for a walk?"

She genuinely struggled to get the words out, trying her best to show how apologetic she was without looking at his face.

"Uh, no! Not tonight… i'm afraid. Just not… feeling up to it." That was true, to an extent. 

Egoraptor answered immediately. "That's fine! … Is everything okay?"

"Of course," she lied. "I'm just… tired. So, I do not want to go around town tonight."

"Hmm."

She swallowed down more of that bad feeling, not letting Egoraptor look in her eyes for fear he'd be able to see it. Never before had she struggled this much to deny someone's request. Normally it didn't make her feel this bad.

The bad feeling got the best of her, and she kept talking.

"That's a lie, actually. Not the tired part, I am fairly tired. However something  _ is _ wrong, it's just a little complicated, that's all."

"Suzy-"

"But do not worry, It's just some trivial matters, I can handle it. I don't want to take up more of your night."

"Suzy!" 

This time she stopped, tracing little designs in the wooden window sill, following the wood lines with her nail. Egoraptor was huffed out a quiet laugh, stolen by the gentle wind. Her face grew warm with humiliation.

"Look at me for a sec."

She did. There was no humor or cruelty in his face. He just seemed worried for her, a small frown on his face. He tilted his head a little.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me what's wrong, but… do you want me to stay?"

It was like he could read her like a book. Suzy averted her eyes again, turning the thought over in her head more than once before deciding. She nodded slowly.

"That… that would be really great. If you don't mind of course." 

"Well yeah, I wouldn't have offered otherwise."

"Just a moment, and I'll come open the door for you." Suzy reached out to shut the window, stopped when Ego started shaking his head.

"I have a better idea, if that's okay. Push it all the way open."

With hesitance, she pushed the window the rest of the way out and around, making it tap against the outside wall. Egoraptor looked around the wall of the building, eventually walking over and placing his hand against the wall. He looked back up at Suzy.

"Permission to climb this wall up to your window?" 

He still seemed very gentle and sincere, so she agreed. "Alright."

With a startling amount of ease for someone so large, he scaled the side of the building. Egoraptor was silent the whole time, and when he got to the window, Suzy backed up so he could sit on the window sill, sideways, with one leg on and the other hanging out the window.

He had a proud little smile on his face, whispering 'ta-dah' once he got his balance. Suzy was in such awe that she forgot why Egoraptor came up here in the first place. If he was strong enough to climb up so easily, he could pick her up just as effortlessly. She was quickly falling back into the fog of her mind, drifting off with the faeries.

Luckily Ego had the patience of a saint, and reached over to grab her hand. He rubbed gentle circles into her wrist, bringing her gently back out of her head. His hands were warm, strange because he had been out in the night for however long. When Suzy’s eyes were able to focus again, she saw the little smile on Egoraptor's face.

What had she been so afraid of? Egoraptor was so very kind, his warm heart showing plainly through his eyes.

_ This is not the same situation _ , part of her thought.

As if sensing she was thinking about what had been bothering her, Ego spoke up. “If you want to talk about whatever is making you so upset, I am down to listen, but if you don’t that’s okay too.”

“For someone I know barely anything about, and who knows barely anything about me,” Her eyes drifted to their hands. “You seem awfully willing to help me whenever I seem to need it.”

“I enjoy being kind, that’s all. Besides, I may not try to delve into your life, but you’ve also never tried to look into mine.”

“I suppose that’s true. What would you say if I tried to, though? Would you actually be willing to answer any questions I have?” Their eyes met, both reflecting something curious and lighthearted.

“Well yeah! I’m not being mysterious on purpose.” He laughed like this was obvious.

This made her laugh as well. After a moment, Egoraptor turned and looked out at the sky, just observing, hand still holding hers. She stepped forwards so she could look out, trying to decide if he were looking at something specific or not. At some point, his thump stopped, and his mouth fell open a little, like he found something surprising.

“...Ego? What do you see?”

He blinked and glanced at her, murmuring an apology. Thinking something over, he ran a hand over his beard. It was visible in his eyes when he made up his mind about whatever it was. He eventually adjusted himself so both of his legs were out the window, and he had moved over so that Suzy could look out the window. Then he gestured to the sky, leaning a little too close to Suzy so she could see where he was pointing. She wasn’t uncomfortable with it.

“Look, can you see that bundle of stars? With the blue?”

She complied with the movement, and tried to look where he was pointing. Indeed there were a few dots, three, smaller than the other stars around it. If Egoraptor hadn’t pointed it out, she never would have cared to look. Two little white specks, and a third, blue dot. Suzy’s mother had, at some point, told her that blue stars were angels that had died.

“Mhmm. Why?”

“Well... If you follow those stars for a few days- or weeks, depending on your speed, you’ll reach Sfi.” Suzy wasn’t entirely sure what he had pronounced. “Its, uh… It’s where I was born.

I didn’t know you could see those stars from here is all.” He turned his head enough to look at her. 

She didn’t look back. This wasn’t  _ quite  _ what she had expected to learn, when she said she didn’t know much about him. She had expected more along the lines of a hobby, or if lemonade was his favorite drink. Something in his voice made it clear that this information was more intimate than that, that the location found from following the stars was not meant to be shared that carelessly.

Suzy did her best to reply accordingly. “My mother told me that stars sometimes have names. Do those ones?”

Egoraptor smiled a little, nodding. “Yeah. The little blue one is named Ito. The two white ones are name Fy and Hy. F-y and H-y.”

“Makes the world seem just a little bigger,” Suzy murmured, as quiet as the breeze blowing through the window.

They enjoyed the silence that came, hearing nothing but the wind combing through the leaves of trees and bushes. Looking at the clear sky. This little information, Suzy realised, about those stars, was exactly what Suzy had needed to feel better. Maybe now was a good time to bring up what had been ailing her, now that Egoraptor had been so vulnerable.

“I met the new king face to face today.” She didn’t change her volume, hoping a little that Egoraptor just didn’t hear her. He did, and turned fully to face her, the speed being a little too fast to be safe where he was perched. He seemed already more excited than before. 

“Really? How was that?”

The way her face screwed up gave away her feelings immediately, and his face also dropped.

“Oh… What happened?” His hand found hers again. It was comforting. 

“Nothing bad! It was sort of fun, he came in and had a drink almost as soon as we opened. I served his drink, and he kept complimenting me, which isn’t bad, just…”

Egoraptor was full on frowning now. “Did he go too far? Like did he try to touch somewhere inappropriate?”

“No! Gods no, nothing like that thankfully. I actually didn’t mind the compliments. Not a lot of men in this town find me that beautiful, so it was kind of nice… Before he left, he pulled me aside, and offered to bring me to the castle. He said such nice things.” She pulled her hand away, the touch making her feel horrible again. She felt like she shouldn’t be saying this to Egoraptor.

“Then what’s wrong?”

Suzy had to think, articulate her thoughts. This whole time she’d been trying to avoid this matter entirely. “I… I almost said  _ yes.  _ Not because I  _ wanted  _ to go. I’d honestly despise spending a night in a castle, or being romantically involved with a man like him. I almost agreed, because… I don’t know. I just didn’t feel like I was fully in control. I felt like I’d do anything for him, just because he’s  _ King _ . It felt…”  _ It felt a little too similar to the feeling you give me sometimes, like I trust you too much _ , she wanted to say.

She didn’t say it, though it was why she was afraid to deny Egoraptor. It had felt earlier like she couldn’t deny things anymore.

Egoraptor stayed silent, letting her work through her feelings. It wasn’t the same. He was being nice, expecting nothing in return. King Danny had actually wanted something from her. Whether it was sexual or romantic.

“He said he’d offer again next time he saw me.”

“And that’s why you didn’t want to walk? You don’t want to see him again?”

She shook her head a little. Was she that easy to read, or was Egoraptor that good at reading her? Didn’t matter. Suzy was avoiding his eyes again, worried he’d call her strange, or defend the king’s side. She completely missed the fact he was white-knuckle gripping the window sill, like he was trying to prevent himself from doing something brash.

Through the strained silence, Egoraptor reached up with one hand and tugged something out of his shirt. 

“Here.” It was a necklace. A little cord, what appeared to be leather, tied to which was a crystal wrapped in metal wiring. The crystal was a startling pink color. Suzy gingerly took the necklace from his hands.

“It’s for protection. My brother gave it to me. If you have it on you, it’s said to keep away anything that’s out to hurt you.”

She didn’t quite believe him, but smiled anyway. “Thank you, Egoraptor.”

He looked back out the window. He’d been there for much longer than it felt like. They both felt that way. “I’ll leave you to your night, Suzy. And trust me, everything will turn out just fine. I promise.” He was grinning again, filled with such assurance and Suzy couldn’t help but believe him.

“Okay. Goodnight, Egoraptor.”

He gently grabbed one of her hands, kissing the top of it as goodbye. “Goodnight.”

Faster than he’d climbed up, he easily got back down off the second floor, back into the street. Suzy watched him go, his cloak billowing behind him until he drifted into the night.

She looked back down at the crystal in her hands, the pink of the crystal appearing as if it were pulsing gently. Suzy suddenly felt comfortably tired, as she should be this time of night. That night she slept, dreaming of little stars, and warm hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The twin stars are pronounced 'fai' and 'Hai'. Danny was using a little magic on her, his words are powerful sometimes. Egoraptor isn't using magic on anyone.


	8. Ego Confronts Danny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Directly after talking to Suzy, Egoraptor goes to the castle to find Danny still awake. They talk about Suzy, among other things.

“Well well well, isn’t it past your bedtime?”

Egoraptor stopped where he was, hanging onto the edge of the grand balcony, nothing beneath him but the cliffs and waves. Quite a sight, a strange man climbing the back of the castle, cloak billowing in the night. He looked up at Danny, who was standing on the balcony and looking at Ego, a smug and curious look clearly visible with Egoraptor's advanced eyesight.

“Oh shut up,” Egoraptor managed to bite back, despite being out of breath. "We're nearly the same age."

He used the intricate marble pillars of the railing to hoist himself up, accepting Danny’s hand and letting himself be pulled over the side. Sitting with his back against the bars, he caught his breath. Danny sat down next to him. 

“Dude, how far did you climb? I thought you had like, unbelievable stamina.”

Egoraptor laughed, gesturing lazily. “I do! I just climbed way too much. If I knew you were still awake I would have come here first.”

Danny looked up, trying to see where Ego was gesturing. “Where did you go then?”

“Well…” He thought for a second, trying to remember. It was mainly a blur of stone, wood, and cold sea air. “From the front doors to the roof… Then down to the base, around, then up here. I was trying to clear my head.”

“Clear your head, or clear yourself of movement tomorrow? Jesus…” Danny laughed this time, and Egoraptor joined.

“I’ll be fine.”

A brisk wind blew, faster here, halfway up the castle and hundreds of feet above the ocean, than in the middle of town. Danny shivered beside him, cursing. 

“I’ll never understand how you just don’t get cold.”

“Its the muscle, you fuckin twig.” Egoraptor stood, groaning excessively with the effort. He leant against the balcony instead, not enjoying sitting on the ground. “Go grab a coat if you’re gonna whine about it though.”

He received a scoff in return, and Danny stood too, not wanting to be towered over.

At this point the fruit had worn off, letting Egoraptor curl his long tail around his hand. The dark-brown fur was a little untidy. Egoraptor didn’t brush his tail all that often, finding it more effort than it was worth. It was thin enough that he really had to put in the effort to brush the whole thing.

He wondered vaguely how Suzy would react to his tail. Humans didn’t have tails- And furries weren’t a thing for another two hundred years. Maybe they were a thing, since Danny was here.

Remembering why he had come to the castle in the first place, he spoke up, breaking the calm silence.

“I heard you were out in the town today.”

“Oh yeah! Went to some fun places, met some hot women. Of course, as king, they were all totally obsessed with me.”

Egoraptor was glad he was holding his tail, lest it be whipping around and giving away his rising anger. “Uh-huh. Remember meeting anyone at a place called The Table-Flip inn?”

Danny didn’t notice anything wrong, and nodded. He got a dopey look on his face when he started remembering back. “Oh _hell_ yeah. Some petite little woman. Sally, or whatever. She was totally a goth, black hair, black clothes, not exactly my type. But god, she's got quite the boobage going on- and those _thighs_. Everyone in this kingdom is so decent, I was glad to see someone showing off a little. I’m planning on going back soon to win her over, get under those skirts of hers.”

“Heh, yeah, uh, no.” Egoraptor could Captain Ninja Brian’s ship in the distance from here, and had his eyes fixed on it. If he looked at Danny, he'd probably try throwing Danny across the ocean far enough to hit the ship. “I’m actually here to ask if you’ll write her an apology. Because she wants an apology.”

Danny, unfortunately, didn’t catch Egoraptor's tone of voice. “For what, rocking her world? Tell you what, first thing in the morning I’ll go down and see Sally, give her an apology she'll never forget.” 

He turned to his bedroom, patting Ego on the arm as a friendly goodbye. He barely got two feet before Egoraptor grabbed him and pulled, vaulting back over the railing. Ego landed safely, one foot between the pillars, and one hand holding onto the top of the railing. In his other hand, he held the front of Danny’s robes tight, dangling him almost two full arm lengths away from the safe ground.

Danny yelped, grabbing onto Egoraptor's forearm best he could. Now, it finally clicked that Egoraptor was pissed with him. Only now that he was being threatened and glared at by the almost beast-like alien, did it sink in. He let his legs hang limp, knowing if he struggled, he’d definitely fall. though he wouldn’t die, it would hurt like a bitch and temporarily keep him from doing anything.

Egoraptor pulled close to Danny, purple eyes steadily turning more pink, glowing in the night, casting a pink shine over Danny’s terrified face.

“ _Her name… Is Suzy. Suzy Berhow,_ ” His voice was shaking, but quiet. “and you will not talk about her like that. You hurt her with your damn magic voice. You can fuck whoever you want, okay, but try to seduce her again, and I _will_ break your _fucking_ legs, then throw you into the ocean with the sharks. _Understand?_ ”

Danny nodded stiffly. “You got it, man,” He choked out. 

The look in Egoraptor's eyes changed a fraction, like he just realised what he was doing. The pink glow faded, eyes violet colored once more. Cursing into the night, he pulled Danny back to the balcony, pushing him over the railing so he was back on safe ground. He stayed on the outside, both feet flat between the bars, rubbing his eyes with one hand.

They were silent for a little too long. The sound of the waves crashing below, and the wind blowing through the sky were the only sounds to break the tense quiet.

“I’m… I’m sorry, Danny.”

Danny finally stood. His legs had stopped shaking enough for him to stand. “Yeah. It’s okay, big cat.”

Egoraptor didn’t look up, but heard Danny get closer, up to the railing again. 

“Suzy must really be someone special.”

“What?” Egoraptor looked up at this, and Danny took it as a sign of anger, holding up his hands in peace.

“W-Well, I’m just sayin, It’s been fucking ages since I’ve seen you so genuinly angry. Like, I almost never see the ‘True Warrior’ part of you come out. I could probably count on one hand the amount of times that I’ve seen that look on your face..”

He directed his gaze away, ears falling down with his guilt. “Yeah, I’m seriously sorry.”

Danny punched his shoulder, soft enough not to disrupt his balance on the balcony railing. “Dude, chill the fuck out. You look like a kicked puppy, which makes me feel worse than I already do. It was my bad for not realising you were pissed with me sooner.”

“Mh-hmm.”

Egoraptor climbed to the inside of the railing, leaning against it next to Danny, watching Captain Ninja Brian’s ship in the distance. He could see people from here. Danny definitely couldn't see them, just the flags and the lights.

“Don’t kill me for this, but, I sort of sought this woman out.”

Egoraptor looked at Danny’ waiting for him to continue.

“The townspeople like to talk. I kept hearing mentions of a ‘Table-Flip witch’, and a number of other bad things about her, so I wanted to see what the deal was. I kinda can, now.”

“What d’you mean?”

“Well,” Danny gestured vaguely as if that would help articulate his point. “She’s just… Different. Like there’s go against the flow different, and then whatever she’s got goin on. I don’t know, she just gives off some different vibe then a lot of other people in this town. I actually didn’t like it that much. It rubbed me the wrong way… No innuendo intended.”

“Huh.” Egoraptor felt the same thing. Like Suzy was hiding more than she let show. Except, unlike Danny, Egoraptor liked the feeling. Whatever vibe it was Suzy was giving off, Egoraptor felt like he matched it just fine. 

Beside him, Danny let out a big yawn, hiding it behind a fist. 

“You should sleep. You’ve got like, kingly duties or something to attend to in the morning or something.”

“Heh, doodies.” Danny giggled, sauntering off with Egoraptor giggling behind him. He paused in the doorway, turning over his shoulder. “You’re welcome to stay the night. The bed is fucking huge, so you being abnormally sized won’t be a problem.”

Egoraptor rolled his eyes, giggling more. Nonetheless he left the railing and followed Danny. “Yeah whatever.”

As they were settling into the huge bed, all the candles having been put out, and the balcony door shut and locked, Danny spoke up into the dark. 

“First thing in the morning, I’ll write that apology letter. I’ll have someone in the castle, not me, deliver it.”

“... Thank you, Danny."

"Shut up and sleep, ya goof."

Egoraptor slept peacefully, not plagued by dreams of a bad past, but gifted with dreams of Victorian buildings and soft hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this over the course of three hours fueled with Pina Colada Fanta. Hell yeah.


	9. Daytime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suzy's adventures in the morning. They go very well, and she gets a gift from the King.

Suzy sometimes had trouble remembering whether or not Egoraptor was actually real. The time they spent together, in the light of the moon, was always so short. The feeling of his warm hands hard to feel, the memory of his excited grin hard to place in the light of the sun.

It was especially hard with so many daytime distractions.

She had responsibilities, afterall. This morning, she had promised to make fresh bread for Barry, who claimed he was getting cheated by their baker, but didn’t know how to make bread himself. It wasn’t very hard. Suzy liked to tease him about the fact he never let her teach him.

Kneading the bread, flour up her arms, Suzy tried to let herself fall back into her mind. She wanted to recall the events of last night, think more about the crystal on a string she had tied into her skirts today. She found doing this difficult, maybe because Ross was staring at her with a trouble-making grin from across the kitchen.

Suzy didn’t stop kneading the dough. “Need something, Ross?”

He crept closer, leaning against the counter where she could see him better. 

“Are you courting anyone, Suzy?”

This made her stop. She blew a stray strand of hair out of her face to ignore any implications of this comment. Now she was trying  _ not  _ to think about Egoraptor. Was she trying to court him? She didn’t quite know, and went back to the task at hand.

“No, I suppose not. Why do you ask?”

He shifted so his back was against the counter, scooting so close he was almost touching her arm. “Well, I just heard the strangest thing is all. Last night, I had my window open and heard you and someone else talking. Imagine my surprise when I saw the strange man from the tavern each night.”

Suzy pushed the bread too hard, sending a ploom of flour up at her. She was glad she was wearing Barry’s apron. Ross grinned like the devil, leaning casually against the counter. Without a second thought, she flicked flour at him to make him stop.

“What did you hear? You know it’s rude to eavesdrop! I should bake you into this bread, you little imp!” Her threats were a little undermined with his height over her, and her trying not to be loud.

He laughed and shielded himself from the flour with his arms. “I barely heard anything, really! As soon as I realised who he was, I shut the window!”

She stopped her attack and back off, face burning with embarrassment. The dough still had to be kneaded.

“Ross, promise to never, ever, tell a  _ soul _ what you witnessed, and I won’t kill you in sleep.”

After wiping off the flour, he leant back against the counter. “Alright, I promise… If you give me more details.”

“...What kind of details?”

“Uh, ‘Who is that strange man?’, ‘How long has this been going on?’, ‘Are you courting him?’, ‘Is  _ he  _ courting  _ you _ ?’” Ross counted the questions off on his fingers, stopped when Suzy hit him in the arm.

“There is no courting involved! On either end, for your information… And his name is Egoraptor. We’ve been meeting up, solely as friends, for a few weeks now. Nothing to get worked up about.”

Ross raised an eyebrow. “Egoraptor is the name of a man who is definitely not human.” He yelped and dodged another punch to the arm.

“He  _ is  _ human. And he is very kind, too, so I won’t let you talk so badly about him.” She huffed in annoyance, putting the finished dough into a bowl for Barry to bake later..

“What makes him so kind?”

“When we first met outside the tavern, I was being attacked, and he fought them off.” Suzy said this before she could think about it, and was able to see the looks on Ross’ face as his thoughts ran through each part of that sentence. The boys in the tavern worried for Suzy and Holly, but especially Suzy. She was more prone to harassment.

“He fought them off, physically? Sounds like a werewolf to me.”

She sighed a little, setting to wipe up the flour. Ross had enough decency to help.

“He isn’t a werewolf. I’m sure it’s something else. He’s a foreigner, it’s possible he’s fought in a war, or was a noble’s guard.” She laughed a little at the idea of such a free-flowing man standing in a castle all day, doing nothing but wearing fancy clothes in case someone attacked.

Ross didn’t laugh. He helped her clean, then grinned with less mischief than before. “Just… Be careful, okay? I still don’t trust him, but I will back off about it, because you’re a grown woman and all.”

She smiled back, channeling confidence. “Of course.” 

As he was leaving the kitchen to the main room, he ducked his head back in to speak. “Oh, I was supposed to tell you earlier, Holly wants you to go to the market with her. I forgot.”

“Ross, you will be the death of me.”

His cackling was heard even through the door.

After cleaning up the rest of the bread mess, she let Barry know the bread was done. It didn’t take long for her to change into her daytime clothes, and Holly was standing outside her bedroom door by the time she was done. With her backset, and a small pouch of money, the two set off towards the little marketplace in the center of town. It wasn’t sunday, meaning the docks were empty and the selection of interesting items was drastically lessened.

Despite this, Holly and Suzy took their time looking around, shopping for both the various herbs and plants Holly required for whatever she did, and other things like new paper and ink. The market was busy. 

At some point, Suzy felt the crystal grow cold against her leg, through a layer of her skirt. It was strange, and a little jarring. With that strange feeling came one of being watched. Watched by something… Malicious. 

Both strange feelings went away the second Holly started dragging her away, off to look at more things. Suzy had completely forgotten about the incident by the time they got back to the tavern, laughing while they passed the heavy wooden door.

Barry was standing at the bar, as he did, waiting for Tavern goers or anyone looking for a room. He smiled when they entered. “You two had fun?”

“Yes. It was really busy today.” Holly set her own basket on the counter, passing a few items to Barry. “Where’s the imp?”

Barry snickered. “In his room. Don’t cause too much trouble, he’s wiping tables tonight.” 

She waved him off, and went to go find Ross.

“Oh, Suzy,” Barry stopped Suzy before she could leave the room. “You got a letter or something.”

“Oh?”

“From the king.”

“...oh?” She tried not to let her pain show on her face.

He nodded. “He didn’t deliver it personally. Some messenger brought it in and told me to set it and the flowers in your room. They’re on your desk.”

It took all of her effort to smile and nod back. “Yes. Okay. Thank you.”

Each step towards her room, upstairs and down the hall, felt like an eternity. Each step sounded a little too loud, and all she could think was ‘ _ Please don’t be a summoning _ .’

She eventually made it to her room, setting her backset on the floor, shutting the door behind her. On her desk was a bouquet of mismatched, purple and blue flowers. No more than two of one time, and about 7 different flowers. Whoever put this together definitely was not a professional.

She pulled the chair away from the desk, intent on sitting in it. After a second of thought, she untangled the leather cord and crystal from her skirts, wrapping it loosely around her hand. The pink of it did something to calm her, remembering who gave it to her.

Sitting finally, she didn’t waste anymore time before picking up the letter in one hand. On the blank side of the envelope, was her name in scratchy handwriting. Not the elegant calligraphy you’d expect a king to have. On the front was the blue wax seal, the image of which… Was something. Two circles and a tower that unfortunately resembled male genitalia.

It peeled open with ease, the thick paper bending back with little hesitation. The paper inside had been folded into a little rectangle to fit in the envelope. It was a single paper with more writing than she had expected.

_ Dear Suzy Berhow _

__ _ A close and trusted friend notified me that my previous interactions with you made you uncomfortable. (He isn't an informant, he has just taken it upon himself to let me know when i've done something stupid) _

__ _ I humbly apologise for any and all discomfort I caused you. Making you unhappy was completely not my intention. As King, I should know way better than to push myself onto unsuspecting village girls. I hope you can forgive me. _

__ _ I will not be pursuing you again. As King it is also my duty to protect my people, and making you afraid to see me at all is the opposite of this. So, sorry again. Enjoy the flowers!  _

_ King Danny _

__ __ _ P.S The flowers are from my friend. Don't mention that though because he doesn't actually know i'm adding flowers to this apology _

Suzy had to read the letter over twice before she started to understand any of it. The King was apologising. That helped ease her fears.

The only explanations to who the ‘friend’ was, was either a stranger watching from afar, or Egoraptor. It was more likely to be Egoraptor.

Did that change anything, the fact he knew the king? She had no idea. The crystal in her hand felt warm. 

No ‘informant’ would be as kind as Egoraptor had been to her. Maybe things wouldn’t be all that different. One thing was for sure though. Suzy  _ had  _ to talk to Egoraptor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Danny had to rewrite his letter 12 times. He knows nothing abiut writing like a king, and can't even read cursive let alone write calligraphy. Egoraptor was also asleep the entire time Danny wrote the letters.


	10. If Ego was the Devil, Suzy would have given him her soul long ago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lovely little fluff chapter!

Since Suzy knew that Ross had listened in on part of their conversation, she decided not to give him another chance like that. As soon as Barry shut the tavern down for the night, she snuck downstairs and outside. She’d wait for Egoraptor out here, instead of up in her room.

It was a little while before Egoraptor strolled up, not actually paying attention where he was going. His hood was off, and he was messing with something in that mysterious bag of his. Ego managed to get fairly close to Suzy before looking up and around, like he’d heard something. He was shocked, actually saying ‘Oh!’, before his face melted into his signature smile.

Suzy smiled back and waited for him to jog closer.

“Well hello, fair lady. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”

“I wasn’t out here very long, you’re okay. If I had been waiting any longer though, I would have been very angry.” Her tone made it clear this wouldn’t have happened.

He laughed and nodded to the side, indicating for her to follow. “Thank goodness. You’re scary enough when you  _ aren’t.” _

__ Suzy didn’t hesitate to walk along with him. “I scare you?”

“Well, a little, yeah! You totally seem like you don’t take any crap from anybody. I wouldn’t want to be on your bad side.”

Despite not being quite sure what ‘Not taking any crap from anyone’ meant, Suzy got the message and grinned into the dark night.

“Good.”

They fell into an easy silence, one Suzy enjoyed. No need to talk about their day, or any village gossip. She wouldn’t mind talking about these things of course, but it was enough just to walk.

The town was particularly dark tonight. The moon was steadily nearing a new moon with each passing night, making the only light the stars above, and the occasional lamp that was still lit. She followed Ego through a smaller, less noticeable passage, his footsteps barely making any noise against the gravel ground. 

It became aware to her just how easy it would be to get lost in the dark alleys of the town. Egoraptor’s dark cloak blended into the night, perfectly. It’d be hard to find him if they got separated. She grabbed loosely onto the cloak, only so that she wouldn't get lost.

Egoraptor looked over at her curiously, but didn’t question it. Instead, he slipped his hand around hers, drawing it away and holding it. She didn’t mind.

They’d managed to walk far from the tavern before Egoraptor broke the calm silence, barely loud enough to hear.

“You know, uh… Yesterday you seemed not to want anything to do with going near the castle.” He gestured over at the castle, still in the distance, but much closer than before. “Today you seem fine with it. Did something happen? Did everything get worked out with Da- uh, King Danny?”

Suzy was not a simple village girl. She had an idea of who The King’s mysterious friend was. Ego was also not being too subtle. The look on his face and tone in his voice gave away something eager, like he knew the answer and was waiting for Suzy to say it.

She must have stared at him for too long, because Ego had glanced back and slowed his walking.

“What?”

“Ego... Are you friends with the King?”

Egoraptor stopped walking, looking incredibly guilty. His eyes were wide, and he opened and closed his mouth in an attempt to speak, without making noise. 

“Uh... M-maybe?” 

All it took was Suzy raising her eyebrows at Ego for him to give a straight answer.

“Y-yeah. Yeah. We’ve been friends for a long time.”

Suzy tugged him along to start walking again. “Thank you for your honesty.”

“I wasn’t purposefully lying. I just don’t want you to think anything… You know? Like, just because he and I are friends doesn’t mean I’m sneaking around delivering news about random people or anything.”

“I know.” She couldn’t help laughing. “The King, in his apology letter, made sure to mention that the one who told him of me was in no way an informant. Just a friend.” 

“Thank god, otherwise I’d have to go up there and yell at him.”

Ego looked over at the castle, and Suzy did too. It was a very impressive size. Something suddenly occurred to Suzy.

“You’ve been in the castle?” She whirled towards him instead, her awe clear on her face.

It was his turn to laugh. “I thought going into the castle was like, the worst thing you could think of.”

“No! I just wouldn’t like living in it. Not my style.” For just a second, she let herself dream aloud. “I have a feeling, though, the view from up there is just  _ wonderful _ .”

From the top of the tallest part of the castle. It was something Suzy had thought about before. Maybe she could see forever. All the way to every place she’d been. Maybe she could see the stars again, the ones Ego had pointed out yesterday.

In the dark, she couldn’t see Egoraptor slowly grinning, coming up with an idea. She was too focused on the castle to notice that he’d leaned closer, until he whispered to her.

“Want to go up there?”

Still day dreaming a little, Suzy tore her eyes from the massive, gowing castle. “What?”

Ego leaned back, putting a hand on his chest smugly. “ _ Someone  _ has special clearance into the castle, and knows a secret way in. If you don’t mind being a little sneaky, we can go up there no problem.”

Before she could call him insane, he stepped back and bowed, holding out his hand like a true gentleman. “What do you say, Suze?”

Suzy had no idea how to reply. Sneaking around the castle? Whether or not Egoraptor was allowed in, they may get caught. She’d get in trouble. Suzy also had no idea exactly  _ where _ they were going to go. Could this be a ploy to get her in trouble?

The crystal felt warm against her leg. Maybe it was a sign to trust him. She placed her hand in his, feeling like she was selling her soul to the devil himself. It scared her how little she cared about that feeling.

“Lead the way, Ego.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This and the next coming one were gonna be one big chapter, but I felt it worked better as two different ones. So they are a little shorter now.


	11. A Very Low Point in a Very High Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suzy and Ego reach the castle, and enjoy the view. Suzy feels as happy and peaceful as a sunny sky. Yet sunshine wasn't meant to last, and a storm is rolling in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative title: Captain Ninja Brian is Totally Watching Those Two From His Ship

Suzy truly felt like she belonged in one of the romance books she’d read before. She met a strange, kind man, and now they’re sneaking around under the cover of darkness. The only differences would, in the stories, the woman and her lover would be sneaking away forever, off to live a happy life together.

There was no way that would happen between them. This though, running through the dark of the town, giggling aloud with Egoraptor like two children, was just as good. Egoraptor seemed to know his way around in the dark, letting them run uninterrupted until they neared the outside wall of the castle.

The castle loomed over them now, lit up a little more than the rest of the town. Suzy could see knights on the wall, walking and surveying the land and sea. She felt anxiety rise as she realised the chances of getting caught.

Egoraptor didn’t even stop as they neared the wall. He slowed down, yes, but kept going, holding onto Suzy’s hand and nearly skipping along. The silence was continuously broken by his saying ‘Come on’, and ‘This way.’ Suzy didn’t dare speak. The second she put more thought forwards than just letting Ego lead her, she would probably quit this plan.

They managed to reach the very edge of the island. It was high up, grass-covered cliffs above the waves. Next to the castle wall, the safe grass was barely wide enough for them to be side by side, Ego specifically placing himself on the outside.

Suzy slowed them as they walked, marveling at the view of the sea from here. “Wow… I can see the mainland from here.”

Egoraptor stopped for her, standing next to her. He let them stay for a good amount of time before nudging with his arm. “C’mon. The view from up there is a million times better, trust me.”

She nodded, letting him lead the way once more. Further down this path, against the wall, was a big wooden door, with an equal big lock by the handle. 

Before Suzy could tease Ego about not knowing it was locked, he reached inside his mysterious satchel and pulled out a ring of keys. One of the keys on the ring was big and heavy metal. Choosing it amidst the other keys, he unlocked the door and ushered Suzy inside. He paused to shut and lock it behind him.

They’d ended up in a little hallway, all rough stone, and barely lit. Despite the lack of light, Egoraptor started leading Suzy safely through the narrow, catacomb-like tunnel. It must have been an escape route in case the castle was ever breached.

At the end of it, on the wall, was a wooden panel. Not quite a door, but it had a rope to pull it shut from inside. Egoraptor put his ear against it and listened, waiting a second before deeming it safe.

Now they were in the darkened castle, sneaking through the hallways. Egoraptor mentioned to step where he was stepping, ending up making them quieter. It was like he knew where all the squeaky floorboards were.

More than once, They had to stop and wait for someone to pass before turning any corners. Each time, the feeling that Suzy should _not_ be doing this grew stronger. Yet the feeling that this was the best thing she’d ever done was stronger than that.

Higher and higher they went. Suzy couldn’t even remember all the turns they’d taken. It seemed Egoraptor couldn’t either, as he had to stop and turn them around a few times. Finally, they reached the highest part of the castle, in the highest tower, a pitch black attic filled with who knows what.

Suzy couldnt see a _thing_. This room had no windows, unlike the floor beneath them. She reached her hand up and could just feel the roof on her fingertips. Ego led Suzy a little ways into the large, circular room before completely letting go.

His voice rang out in the darkness, and Suzy resisted feeling for him. “Alright, hang on just a sec. I know it’s here somewhere, just- let me-”

There was a creak of wood, and Suzy could barely see Egoraptor across the room. He’d found a panel in the ceiling and pushed it up, turning it so he could pull it inside.

“Ah-ha! I knew it was here somewhere.”

He set it on the ground beside him softly, though it still thudded against the old wood. Suzy took this as her queue to walk over, now she could see a little more. She stood under the open door, able to see the clear night sky.

Needless to say, this was incredibly exciting. After sneaking through into the castle, the end goal was so close!

Suzy turned to Ego, who was patiently doing the same thing she was doing, and patted his shoulder. 

“Kneel down so I can get up! Uh- please.”

Ego didn’t seem to mind her bad manners, laughing while he complied with her order. He shuffled a little to make sure he was in place, then nodded at Suzy. As soon as he was settled, Suzy made sure her skirts were in place and stepped up. Using his knee, she had enough extra height to push herself upwards. 

After a second of her legs hanging free and nearly falling, she managed to swing up and climb the rest of the way, sitting down on the wooden roof. She couldn’t see the sea yet. There were stone walls lining the wooden roof.

She waited for Egoraptor to pull himself up, far more graceful than Suzy had been. Yet he still looked impressed, grinning at her when he was seated on the edge of the opening. 

“I have no idea how you did that as easily as you did with that big skirt and corset.”

“Well, I struggled a little. Nothing that impressive.” Suzy tried to brush it off, lest she seem vain, but she reveled in the praise.

Once Egoraptor got to his feet, he offered Suzy his hand and helped her stand too. 

Ego had been _right._ Off the back of the castle, the sea went on for so, so long. Suzy could see ships spotted about the water, their lights all that marked their presence. The horizon almost blended with the sky, forming an inky line. The sky went on too, stretching and untouched by land for lights. The moon might not have been very bright, but that just made the stars that might brighter.

She was completely agape at the sight, a breathy laugh escaping her. “Wow...This is…”

Egoraptor leant on the wall next to her, facing the sea. He fully understood her lack of words. No matter how many times he’d see sights like these, he’d never stop loving them.

“Yeah.”

“This is beyond words, seriously. I’ve been all over and I have never seen anything quite like this.”

Eyes still fixated on everything before her, Suzy couldn’t see the look that Egoraptor gave her.

“You… weren’t born here? I thought you were.”

This caught Suzy off guard. “Oh, uh. No. No, I was born elsewhere. A little village on the mainland somewhere. I don’t… actually know where it is from here.” She giggled nervously.

Egoraptor took a moment to think about it. “Is that why so many people don’t like you as much? I know people don’t like me because I’m not from around here.”

“Among other things, yes. My clothes are a big reason.” She flipped around the outer layer of her skirt, unable still to remove her eyes from the horizon. "In a town filled with blue and brown and white… no one likes the black fabric."

"I do."

This drew Suzy's eyes, face heating up. He had something completely soft and caring in his voice, like he didn't even mean to say it. Once he seemed to realise what he had said, Egoraptor looked completely embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I mean, It’s a good color, in general, and also definitely on you. But what do I know, I don’t study color, I’m not an artist-atician, I just look at colors and think they’re neat!” He grew louder and more frantic the longer he ranted, waving his hands and giving off the appearance of someone touched with mania.

Suzy was giggling, biting her lip to avoid breaking down in a completely unladylike manner. This seemed to be Egoraptor’s goal, as he resumed ranting, trying hard not to falter between laughs.

“People don’t come up to me, asking me about colors! I bother them, instead! I tell someone I like the color of their shirt, and where they got it, and they say, ‘How the Hell did you get behind the bar?’! Like, UH, buddy, that wasn’t the question! Tell me about your shirt, puh-lease! It’s very _color_ and I _want_ the color!”

At this point Suzy was in tears. She was doubled over with her laughter, and had to shove Egoraptor to make him stop talking, for fear her eyeliner would run down her face.

“Shut it! You’re unbelievable.”

Egoraptor laughed, barely moving at her arms. The air was still for once, despite being up so high. Their laughter was ringing unpeeded, only for them to hear.

Eventually they calmed down, still snickering, and went back to staring out on the horizon. Egoraptor was more focused on the sea, and Suzy kept her eyes to the sky, trying desperately to pick out the stars that marked Egoraptor's home.

She turned a little in an attempt to find the same direction that was out her window. It was difficult to tell which way it was from up here. She turned a little more, and saw Egoraptor looking at the sky.

He seemed uncharactaristically troubled, looking at something she couldn’t see. She attempted to draw him out of it, placing her hand gently on his arm.

“You said you and The King have been friends for a long time. Are you two from the same village?”

Egoraptor snickered into the air. “No way. Not even close. It’s actually a miracle we met and hit it off.”

Her plan worked. Egoratpor turned towards her instead, troubled look now gone. What little light there was made the blond streak in his hair appear golden, shining from his head. Feeling Egoraptor wouldn’t mind, Suzy lifted her hand, meaning to run her fingers on it.

“Does everyone in your Kingdom have this streak?”

She couldn't even touch his head before Egoraptor leaned back, just a fraction. His smile fell, replaced with a panicked expression.

Suzy froze in place, quickly drawing back her hand to her chest. Mumbling out an apology, she tried not to seem hurt. Egoraptor had a right to his own boundaries after all, and maybe Suzy had misread how intimate their relationship was.

Egoraptor shook his head and reached out, asking for her hand back. She placed her hand in his, and he brought it up to his head.

“Don’t be sorry, I just wasn’t expecting it.” He was smiling again, hand cupping the back of Suzy’s.

She took this chance to run her fingertips over the strand of hair, all of it tied tightly to Egoraptor's head. It felt like silk, both the golden and the brown, and Suzy would be lying if she said she wasn’t jealous. She wished it was down, that she could play with his hair a little, but she wasn’t sure if that was acceptable.

Suzy barely knew where their relationship stood in any regard. _Was_ she trying to court him? She definitely had a fancy for Egoraptor. Did he feel the same?

“The answer is no. I was born with this stripe.”

After she remembered what question she’d asked in the first place, Suzy nodded, a little transfixed. “It’s like you were kissed by faeries… Do you know if it’s magic?”

Ego laughed, softer than he had before, gentle in the night. “It’s probably not. There is a myth though, that I heard from one of the oldest people in my kingdom. She told me that, when I fell so completely in love with someone, and they in kind returned that love, this golden strange would also appear on their head. A sign of unity, or something.”

“Do you believe it?” Suzy very nearly brought her other hand up to feel her head, see if she’d be able to tell where it would appear on her head if that ever were to happen. She managed to stop herself from doing so.

Egoraptor hummed thoughtfully and looked down. Clearly not at her bosom, or Suzy would have had to slap him. She wasn’t even feeling the golden stripe anymore, just holding his cheek and rubbing her thumb in a circle. He kept his hand on hers, in a suddenly tender moment.

“I know it hasn’t happened yet, but I dunno. Everyone said it was a stupid thing to beleive. Sometimes I believe that. Then again, maybe I just haven’t fallen in love with the right person.”

He looked up, and their eyes met. It felt like the sea and sky had stilled, nothing compared to the pure compassion in Egoraptor's face. It felt like he was staring at her with all the love and kindness he held in his heart, holding her hand to his face with such tender care that it both calmed her and sent her spiraling.

Yet she still didn’t know what this meant. No man had ever looked at her like this. She’d had flings before, but nothing like this. With Egoraptor's eyes on her so intently, she couldn’t even begin to think too far into it. 

Without warning, the gentle care in started slipping away, like water between her fingers. It was replaced with that same troubled look he’d had, yet worse, this time around. He looked nearly heartbroken over something only he knew, over something in his head. Suzy wanted to speak up, ask him what was wrong, make him tell her what could dare take away his kind smile.

She couldn’t.

She could only comply when he pulled her hand away, dropping them both and turning back out to sea. She could only nod when he said they should go, white noise running through her ears. The crystal in her pants felt warm. It was as if it were _mocking_ her.

The castle was darker on their way out, but Suzy didn’t notice. It felt like she could barely see anything but her feet in front of her, wondering what happened to their little spark. Even the silence she used to enjoy was bitter, tense enough that anything said might not even be heard.

Egoraptor led her back out the side door to the castle, shutting and locking it behind her. They weren’t holding hands, they weren’t giggling like school children.

‘ _Because you’re not’,_ a little voice told Suzy. ‘ _you’re an adult, not some character in a romance novel. Not some character in a fun story with a happy ending.’_

The walk home felt both much too slow, and much too fast. Each controlled step felt like it took a minute to make, yet when she was stopped by running into the back of Egoraptor, they were closer home than she’d realised.

Egoraptor looked around, the troubled look never having left his face.

“Ego…?” Part of Suzy didn’t want to draw attention to herself. She didn’t want that look directed at her again.

He barely glanced at her. “Sorry. Nothing. Thought I heard something.”

Just like that, the bitter silence returned like a wave to shore, washing away anything else Suzy might have said.

They reached the tavern without further incident. Ego walked Suzy right up to the door, but didn’t move to do anything but stand and stare at the ground. Suzy waited.

After nearly too long, Egoraptor spoke up. His voice was loud and straight forward. “Don’t wait for me outside again.”

“Egoraptor-”

“Promise me.” He looked up, eyes hard, cold. The look left no room for her to respond, and her voice died in her throat.

Egoraptor's eyes softened a little, but he looked away again. “Promise you won’t wait outside tomorrow. Promise me you won’t go looking for me, or anything. I can't... I can’t explain why... not right now.”

He reached over and grabbed both of her hands, holding them to his chest and meeting her eyes again. “ _Please,_ Suzy. This is all I ask.”

She swallowed heavily. What kind of request was that? Was something bad going to happen to him?

“Egoraptor…” There was a quiet desperation in his eyes. She couldn’t help but agree, on one condition. “Okay. Okay. Only if you promise to come back from whatever is making you act this way.”

He smiled sideways, no joy or humor in the expression. “I promise. Goodbye, Suzy.” 

Leaning over with a slowness that made clear Suzy could back off, Egoraptor pressed a warm and gentle kiss to her cheek. It lasted barely a second.

As soon as it was over, Egoraptor turned and fled, disappearing into the dark night and taking the momentary warmth with him. Hand on her cheek, Suzy was left cold, alone, and heartbroken in the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The crystal was actually trying to comfort Suzy and tell her this isn't about her, not mock her.  
> This is both the fluffiest thing and Angstiest thing I have written for this so far. There's still time for both of these things to change ;)
> 
> (Alterantive Title #2: Author Pandsie loves paralells and call backs a little too much)


	12. A Storm is Brewing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suzy is doing her very best. Fate doesn't help her with this, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than I thought! Rip

Suzy tossed and turned all night. She was tired, sure, but her mind wouldn’t be quieted. All she could think about was her outrage at Egoraptor’s mystery. This strange man had no right to show up, sweep her off her feet, then leave her alone without explanation. The way he sounded, he’d likely not be back for a few days. 

But why? He likely felt the same way about Suzy that she felt towards him, if their tender moment was anything to go off of. Was he afraid to fall in love? That was a reason to talk it over, not ditch the girl on her doorstep.

As soon as the sun started rising, she gave up on sleeping and made her way downstairs, intending to use this unfortunate energy on something useful.

She cleaned the tavern best she could, sweeping, wiping down the tables, making sure everything was ready for the next night they’d serve drinks. When she finished sooner than she’d hoped, she decided to start on breakfast. Everyone would be waking up soon.

Barry, expectedly, was the first to awake, coming downstairs and being startled to see Suzy up and about.

“Oh! Goodmorning Suzy. You’re up awfully early.”

She blew some hair out of her face, continuing to make oatmeal for everyone. “Good Morning to you too. I just couldn’t sleep, that's all. Thought I’d be useful.”

“Well I’m not complaining… Is everything okay?”

“Yes! Just fine! Don’t worry.” She tried to put pep into her voice, make it seem like everything really was okay. Based on the way Barry didn’t move from behind her for too long, she’d done a bad job of this. She didn’t care.

Ross and Holly came downstairs a little while later, after breakfast was ready. Holly probably woke Ross on her way past his door.

They thanked Suzy for making them breakfast, and sat down to eat. Suzy had already eaten, and was looking for more to do. She was full of energy, likely from lingering anger, and didn’t want to stop moving.

Barry had mentioned a list of things Suzy could do to keep busy, which she accepted. Ross gave her a look when he saw this encounter, but didn’t say anything otherwise.

By night, Suzy was exhausted. The other three could clearly tell she’d overworked herself. Barry excused her from working tonight, insisting that he couldn’t have his prized tenant falling ill- drawing joking exclamations from Holly and Ross.

Despite being tired, she still had trouble sleeping. She kept waiting to hear that familiar ‘thunk’ of stone on wood, the signal that Egoraptor had arrived. It never came. She fell asleep, holding the pink crystal tight to her chest.

\------

When she awoke from her sleep, Suzy was stunned to find it later in the day than she had expected. Downstairs, everyone had already eaten breakfast. Barry said good morning and dished her up some food when he saw her.

Holly showed up soon after, making a b-line for Suzy to put a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. When Suzy looked up, Holly was giving her a worried look.

“Suzy, is everything okay?”

Suzy refused to look at her very long. “Of course. Just a little trouble falling asleep.” 

Holly was relentless. “You seem… down. You don’t have the same energy as normal.”

“I swear, I’m doing just fine, Holly.”

Luckily, Ross came to her rescue before Holly could keep pressuring her about this. Popping his head between the two of them. 

“C’mon Holly, if Suzy says she's fine, then she is. If she isn’t, she’ll let us know. No big deal.” 

Holly finally moved away, nodding. “I’m going to go make a luck charm for you, just in case.” Without waiting for a response, she darted away, leaving Suzy to her breakfast.

Ross stayed. He sat in the chair next to Suzy, placing his feet on a second chair, fiddling with some strip of leather and not looking at her. She had nothing to say to him, so she just ate her breakfast. As she was finishing up, Ross finally unveiled his reason for keeping her company.

He planted his feet back on the floor casually, leaning close to her. “I won’t pry, Suzy, but I do admit you don’t seem well. Does the reason have anything to do with ‘Egofaptor’ not showing up last night?”

Spoon nearly to her lips, Suzy paused, putting it back down. “He… didn’t?

“Nope.”

Suzy had no idea what to think of that. She suddenly felt very ill, and pushed her plate away. Ross watched her curiously. 

There was a rising anger filling up Suzy. She couldn’t even place  _ why _ , just that she was about to curse out Egoraptor's name to all the gods above.

All she managed to choke out was a firm ‘maybe’.

Ross leaned back in his chair again, tossing the leather strip behind him. “Well whatever the case, want to go out and cause trouble with me? I know a baker in town, we can probably buy some pastries or something while we’re out.”

“Seriously?” This was probably his attempt to make her feel better. 

His iconic mischievous grin showed this was definitely the case, and he’d probably not take no for an answer.

“Fine. Let me go get dressed.”

\-----

Walking through the town helped Suzy, just a little. It was more the fact there were so many people around, separating this from her nightime walks with Egoraptor.

Ross lived up to his promise of pastries, sweet rolls with butter and sugar. They sat on a wall, eating the food and watching the people go by. After the wild few days she’d had, this sense of normalcy was fairly nice. 

After eating barely half of a roll, she began to rant, entirely forgetting the food existed. She talked about Egoraptor, giving more details about their nights, the little amount of information he’d given her, and his curious personality. Despite being upset with him, she was sure not to divulge anything too personal. Which was most of it, to be honest.

Ross was likely not even listening, eating the sweet rolls and looking bored. He still let her talk uninterrupted, which was helping.

Eventually her verbal waterfall ebbed enough for her to remember the sweet rolls, picking up the second half and nibbling on it.

There was an odd pressure against her neck, startling until Suzy remembered she’d hidden the crystal in her ponytail today. It was still a little startling, when she wrapped her hand around her hair and the crystal, to find it very cold. This crystal had a mind of its own.

Why did it do that? Was it magic?

She let her hand fall again, looking into the bustling crowd of people. Instead of people watching this time, Suzy was looking for something specific. Surely nothing was wrong, but maybe the way her skin prickled was a sign of something watching her.

Her gaze drifted over the whole plaza, looking at the faces of each villager, seeing if any were looking back. Nothing. The bustle of people yielded nothing but normal people going about their day. She must just be crazy.

Feeling it was a good time to start heading home, Suzy looked over at Ross, ready to talk. Something else caught her eye. Behind them, in the shadows of buildings beneath the wall, a cloaked figure was watching them. It looked startlingly like Egoraptor. Everything about him looked the same, despite the hood being up.

He and Suzy looked at each other. Cold air blew on her neck, seemingly emanating from the crystal. It was, however, not the reason for the strange chill that ran down her spine. Something about the light was making it hard to focus her eyes on him.

In barely a moment, the figure left the shadows and went down the street, a man on a mission.

Without thinking, Suzy swung her legs over the side of the wall and jumped down, fumbling on impact. She dashed the way Egoraptor had gone, trying to catch sight of him again. Thinking she saw his cloak, she turned a corner, running straight into something, falling back.

This ‘something’ was a woman, who grabbed onto her arms to keep her from falling. Just as she was about to apologise, the voice died in her throat. This woman was tall, even taller than Egoraptor. She too wore a cloak, the hood up to cover most of her face. 

She didn’t let go of Suzy’s arms, holding nearly tight enough to be painful, and close enough that Suzy could see under the hood. Two blazing green eyes stared back, the woman’s face hardset and glaring.

“ _ What has he told you? What has Egoraptor told you to put you under his spell?” _

Suzy didn’t, or couldn’t, answer, trying to push herself away with her feet and attempting to glare back. The woman didn’t even move, like Suzy wasn’t doing anything at all.

“ _ The traitor lies, Suzy Berhow. He is a warrior, he has killed without question. He is not the faulty persona he attempts to be. Meet me outside your homestead when the moon is at its peak. I will give you the truth, and free you from his childish games.” _

__ She let go, turning around and leaving down the street.

Suzy could hardly breath, watching this woman disappear down an alley in broad daylight. When Ross caught up to her- she didn’t know he had followed her- she struggled to tear her eyes away from where they were caught.

“Suzy? What the hell happened? You okay?” He got her to face him, a comforting presence.

After opening and shutting her mouth a few times, she just shut her eyes tight. She could still see the woman’s eyes, the fury in her face. 

“Can we go home now…? Please…” Her voice was just a whisper. It was all she could manage.

Ross nodded, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leading her gently the right direction. She’d probably try to get out of work tonight.

Suzy had a decision to make, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hhhhhhhehehhehehheheh  
> Shits kicking off now bois! Prepare yourselves.  
> I had A LOT of debate as to how this chapter was going to go, so it went like this. The next one will be just as hard.


	13. A Fight on the Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final battle. Will the truth of what Egoraptor is be revealed? Will they end up In love?? Stay tuned to find out.

Suzy had managed to get out of working that night. She told Barry she felt horribly ill, which was true. He had blamed it on her lack of sleep, as did Holly.

When she found Holly unoccupied, Suzy asked for Holly to do some ‘spell work’ on her. She might not believe in the magic all that much, but it still felt better not to be alone. Holly was good company, despite her strange beliefs. The spells were calming, too.

After the spell work, Suzy went straight to her room. Sleep was never her intention, it seemed impossible at this point. She never even changed out of her day clothes.

Sitting on the raggedy bed, rolling the pink crystal in her hands, Suzy was in a tizzy. She wanted answers. Not knowing much about Egoraptor never felt this bad before. Now that she had a chance for answers, it was clawing at her like bitter cold, spilling through her head and chest. 

If Egoraptor hadn't told Suzy not to go out at night, this might be an easier decision. Might be, did not mean it currently was. The idea of seeing that woman again terrified her. Yet she wanted-  _ needed _ someone to give her any more information on what was going on. Any at all, just stop leaving her in the dark!

By the time midnight came around, Suzy still hadn’t made up her mind. Her stomach was still in knots, tied up with so many horrible feelings she couldn’t name. Finally, she decided to go. Maybe answers would help her calm down, part of her reasoned. 

She’d changed before leaving, wearing something that allowed for more movement, just in case. 

Creeping down the stairs like this normally filled her with a sneaky joy, knowing what was waiting outside the door for her. Now though, she didn’t feel any of that.

When Suzy arrived at the heavy wooden door, she hesitated, fingertips barely grazing the cold handle. In her other hand, she held the crystal tight enough it was likely leaving marks. It felt as cold as the iron door handle. 

Her fingers slipped off the handle and back to her side. It would be so easy just to go back to bed, ignore all of this. Easier than leaving, at least.

She turned back around, heading straight for the bar, making her way through the darkness. When she bumped into the bar, she began to search for what she knew was there. 

A little black carving knife that Barry used mainly to open fresh bottles. It was small enough she could hide it on her person, and came with its own sheath. 

It took a bit of searching to find the blade behind the counter, patting along blindly until she felt the leather under her hand. Suzy pulled it out and stood back up, slipping it into her waistband and tying it with her skirts. After a moment of debate, she did the same with the little crystal.

With more bravery than before, she marched back up to the front door and pulled it open, slipping out into the pleasantly warm night.

It was dark, quiet. The air had the same stillness it did before storms. Anticipation personified, preparing everyone for something coming.

Perhaps this analogy was best ignored for now. Air had no way of knowing the future, let alone personifying it. At least, Suzy was fairly sure it didn’t work like that.

Suzy teetered and turned on the spot, wondering if she should wait for this woman, or go looking for her. The road ahead of her was dark in the night, anyone could be hiding in the dark corners. The whole scene reminded her of why she didn’t go out alone at night. 

Her bravery was fading fast.

A chill ran up her spine, familiar yet incredibly discomforting. It took her mere seconds to realise where from, whirling around.

Suzy’s heart skipped a beat, maybe two when she ended up face to face with the tall, strange woman from earlier that day. In the night she appeared even more foreboding, still like a shadow in the night. Suzy hadn’t even heard her walk up, not a sound, even though she’d been listening to her surroundings.

She swallowed around her fear, holding her arms close to her body. Whatever it was that made her trust Egoraptor so much was having the opposite effect to this woman. Something about her made Suzy’s skin prickle.

The woman didn’t give Suzy a chance to say even hello before shouldering past her.

“ _ This way, Berhow _ . _ ” _

__ Not seeing anything else to do, Suzy followed along, making sure her knife was secure before doing so. The woman took long, purposeful strides, meaning Suzy had to jog to keep up. She couldn’t even determine where they were going, turning over and over again, like the woman was being purposefully complicating.

After a while, Suzy couldn’t handle the tense silence anymore.

“You got a name, miss…?”

The woman took a moment to answer. “ _ Asmos.” _

__ “Asmos? Interesting name… Could you tell me where we are going, Asmos?”

“ _ You’ll see.” _

__ “Can’t you just tell me?”

Asmos didn’t even hesitate, nor stop. “ _ No.” _

Suzy definitely did not like that response. “Oh. Alright, then. Can you… Could you tell me about Egoraptor instead? Like… Why you seem to hate him?”

Asmos thought over her answer carefully, taking long enough that Suzy almost thought Asmos didn’t hear her. “ _ Hanson is nothing but a coward, and a dirty traitor. To his namesake, to the cause, to the other warriors he was trained alongside from childhood. His weakness prevents him from doing what must be done for our people.” _

__ Suzy waited impatiently for her to continue, feeling an interruption wouldn’t be appreciated. She desperately wanted to, though.

After another stretch of time, Asmos did keep speaking, leading Suzy further around. “ _ Hanson is a traitor even to you, Berhow. He has done nothing but lie to you, from the cause of meaningless fears. You believe he’s something good, something innocent and human. Yet in truth he lures you in with false belief and a trickster disguise, towards his own end.” _

Suzy had no idea what to say to that. Something ‘human’? Was Egoraptor not human? Was his looking human just a disguise? She just felt more and more sick, less and less brave. At this point she’d changed her mind, and wanted to go home.

“ _Know_ _I do not give these truths freely.”_

__ “Okay… What do you want?” She placed her hand over the knife in her waistband.

“ _ Information on the Traitor. You have spent, from what we’ve seen, an abundance of time around him.” _

__ “You’d probably know more than me. What for, anyway?” Suzy began to determine where they might be going- The Docks and beachside. Maybe Asmos had a boat docked there.

Asmos slowed, turning to Suzy. Her voice became more expressive than before. “ _ You’re going to help us take him out, once and for all.” _

__ Suzy outright stopped walking, shocked. Asmos stopped as well. “You’re going to kill him!?”

“ _ He’s a traitor. I’m not.” _

__ Suzy started shaking her head. “No...” She did her best to glare at the woman, stepping back further. “I’m not going to help you kill him!”

Asmos didn’t respond this time. She definitely heard though, turning fully towards Suzy and pushing back her shoulders, tilting her jaw up in a toughened stance. 

Suzy tried to return the ferocity, trying not to let her glare waver. In reality she was terrified. She stared directly where she assumed the woman’s stark green eyes were, tediously creeping backwards at a snail’s pace. It was several moments before either of them spoke up, Asmos breaking the staring contest.

“ _ Humans… So weak.” _

__ In her staring contest, Suzy hadn’t noticed Asmos pull something from behind her back, a strange object. It was angled, with a handle and a hollowed end. It was also blistering white, fluorescent in the night. Asmos had it pointed directly at her chest. It reminded Suzy of a pirate's gun, though it was stockier and colored differently.

There was a click noise, and instead of a bang, there was a hiss of air. She felt a sharp prick in her chest, looking down. Sticking on her bosom above her corset was a small circular piece of metal, clinging to her skin. 

Eyes flickering back to Asmos, she tried to determine what exactly was the point with the gun. Asmos pulled up their sleeve, revealing a strange clunky armband, and tapped on the top of it. 

Soon after, Suzy could feel a painful tingle spreading from the little metal disk, melting into numbness. It spread and spread at a rapid rate, making her lose her control on her muscles and forcing her to collapse. Whatever the disk was doing was affecting every part of her. Her heart seemed to be skipping beats, and she could barely breathe. She couldn’t seem to move, at all. 

Asmos didn’t care about her struggle, putting the device back into her cloak and walking over. With an inhuman ease, she picked up and swung Suzy over her shoulder.

As soon as Suzy was settled- and limp- over her shoulder, she moved on, resuming the convoluted path to their destination.

Suzy wanted to kick and scream, she wanted to pull that knife out of her skirt and use it, do anything at all to get away. She couldn’t. All Suzy could do was lie limp and numb from whatever Asmos had done to her.

She couldn’t even see where they were going. Not that it would matter. She didn’t know their destination at anypoint, let alone while possibly poisoned and being kidnapped.

Asmos trekked through the cobblestone paths, unhindered by the new weight. She kept going endlessly until they began stepping on wood, and then sand instead. Seemed they  _ had  _ been  headed to the beach side.

There was someone else there too. They and Asmos were speaking in a hushed, unfamiliar language.

Suzy was wildly confused, even when Asmos set her down on the sand, against a wooden post. They were next to a dock. 

She couldn’t lift her head to look around, forced to stare at her skirts. The numb feeling was starting to wear off. Enough that she could breathe again, not enough to move. The more it wore off though, the dizzier she became. Her vision was starting to dance around uncomfortably.

Asmos lifted Suzy’s head by her hair, looking into her eyes. Suzy tried her best to look back at those green eyes, seeing as Asmos had discarded her cloak somewhere. 

In her swimming vision, it seemed like Asmos’ eyes were  _ glowing _ green. She also appeared to be wearing some strange hat, two dark and fluffy lumps where her ears should be.

Asmos huffed at her, letting go of her hair to instead grab her arms and pull her up, pressing her back against the pole. The other one, a man it seemed, smaller than Asmos, wound rope around Suzy. He tied her snug to the pole so she remained upright when Asmos let go of her.

“ _ Now, Berhow. Tell us everything you know about the traitor.”  _

__ The numbing wore off further, and Suzy lifted her head weakly. Asmos was in front of her, arms crossed and waiting. The man was further away, not looking at either of them.

In a fit of either stupidity or anger-maybe both- Suzy spit at Asmos. 

Asmos stared at her for a whole second before raising her hand, striking the back of it across Suzy’s face, forcing a cry from her. Pain flooded Suzy’s system, and she bit back whimpers, trying to keep her breathing steady. 

Asmos grabbed her hair again, pulling it back to force Suzy to look at her. The man had turned to look at the two of them. His eyes seemed to be yellow. “ _ You’re too stubborn for such a frail human. Tell us-”  _

She stopped talking, perking her head up like she was listening. The other man did the same. They seemed to come to the same conclusion. Asmos let go of Suzy and whipped around, facing the beach.

There, standing calmly in the sand, a third cloaked figure.

“ _ Hanson. _ ” Asmos said, simply.

Egoraptor was standing in the sand, arms folded over his chest. He was missing his signurature satchel.

“Yidian Asmos! I’d say it's a pleasure to see you again but… That’d be lying, wouldn’t it?” Egoraptor had an awfully upbeat tone of voice in this horrible scenario.

Suzy mouthed his name, so happy he was here she could cry. She didn’t, though.

In a smooth motion, Asmos pulled out the gun again, pointing it straight at Egoraptor. Asmos didn’t give Egoraptor a chance to even look at the device before the same click sounded. 

This time, it did bang like a normal gun. Rather than a bullet shooting out, though, a brilliant ball of white light shot from the end. It was like magic, lighting its way across the sand.

Suzy screamed his name, getting the feeling that blast of light wasn’t good magic, or heavenly in any way.

It hit Egoraptor, bursting and burning even brighter for just a second. It dissipated, leaving spots on Suzy’s ever-swirling vision.

Egoraptor was still standing, head tucked behind his arms. The blast of light had burned his tunic and cloak where it had hit, in a smoldering circle. He dropped his arms, face now visible with his cloak in tatters.

“Seriously, Yidian? How dumb are you? I’m still Faemik. Those silly blasts don’t do shit except ruin my new clothes.” Egoraptor pulled off his smoking cloak and shirts, dropping them to the sand carelessly. Underneath, he still seemed to be wearing a shirt. One white and pink and skin tight. 

Asmos growled, more animal sounding than human. She began speaking the strange language again, hissing it out to Egoraptor. What was she saying? 

Egoraptor groaned in annoyance, throwing his arms up to the sky. “ _ God _ ! If you’re gonna try and kill me, could you try doing so already? I have plans, like buying a new shirt!”

Giving a strong shout, Asmos changed forwards with startling speed, throwing herself at Egoraptor, he ducked under her arms, punching her in the stomach. They began fighting too fast for Suzy to follow through her persistent dizziness.

The other man, without warning, tore away the rope and grabbed Suzy, wrapping his arm around her neck to hold her steady. He swung them around so they were facing the space beneath the docks. She grabbed onto his arm, both in effort to remove it, and just remained steady.

It took Suzy a second to realise why, when the man snatched a thrown blade from the air, tossing it to the ground beside them.

Under the docks were two more men. King Danny, in full metal armor, and a Pirate Captain, wearing a mask over his face. They both seemed shocked that the man caught the knife.

“Holy shit, Brian, I think he’s faster than you.” Danny glanced over at the Pirate, Brian, who was clearly the one to have thrown the knife, as his hand was still raised. 

He flipped his hand so he was showing his middle finger to the man. Suzy had no idea what that meant.

Danny soon recovered from his shock, striking a valiant pose and drawing his sword from its sheath. “Faemik asshole, unhand that innocent woman and leave this planet lest we kick your fucking ass!”

Brian nodded energetically, not letting his hand drop.

The man tightened his arm around Suzy's throat and withdrew a gun just like Asmos’. He pointed it at Danny and Brian, who both faltered and tensed up. They must not be resistant to the magic light like Ego was.

“ _ The only reason I do not shoot you both now, is I have specific instructions not to make a scene. So walk away now- no teleporting- and we’ll move on after our mission is complete. If I have to, I’ll kill this weak human first.”  _

__ It was obvious they both didn’t know what to do, sharing a look. Brian was glaring daggers at the man, like he was trying to mentally melt him with just his eyes, and Danny kept regripping his sword, teetering like he was about to do something.

The dizziness was clearing, enough Suzy rememnered the carving knife she’d tucked into her waistband. This man insisted she was so weak, and probably wouldn’t find her capable of hurting anything. That was an advantage.

She slowly lowered her hand, desperately hoping Danny or Brian wouldn’t draw attention to her moving. Danny glanced at her, then presumably her waist where the knife handle was sticking out.

He looked back at the man, grinning like he was definitely up to something. “Why aren’t you over there helping your friend? They sound like they’re in quite the battle.” This was true. Suzy could hear hits landing, curses, shounts and grunts from here. “Isn’t that what you’re about, Battles? Like some boring asshole or something.”

Ninja Brian was nodding, gesturing vaguely. Suzy wrapped her hand around the handle of the knife, slipping it slowly out. She’d move faster, but this man seemed too fast to be human. He'd be able to stop her too soon, so she wasn’t going to take any chances.

Danny kept blabbing on and on, waving his arms and distracting the man. Suzy raised the knife, thinking the best way to do this without hurting herself with the knife too. She’d also never, ever, hurt someone this way. 

After just a second, she met Brian’s glare. He kept her eyes and pulled out a knife of his own, stabbing it vaguely upwards in the air near his face. Suzy got the hint, positioning the knife where Brian had it and pushing upwards with as much strength as she could muster.

It was enough, the knife driving all the way to the handle. She felt his blood splatter down her hand from the force.

The man yelled, throwing Suzy to the side fast enough it took the breath out of her. She didn’t hit a wall, like she expected, instead getting caught by someone else. There was a puff of smoke, that when cleared, showed she was now fifteen feet away, on the edge of the beach.

Pirate Brian set her upright, glaring at her again and pointing towards the town, a clear message to leave, now. He drew out a cutlass and pistol, rushing back towards Danny, who had begun trying to hit the man with his sword.

She heard Egoraptor shout, and directed her attention to him. He’d been thrown against the rocks, lying and groaning. Asmos was near him, panting heavily. If she got any closer, she’d kill him.

Suzy looked back at Danny and Brian, too focused in their own fight to notice Egoraptor’s trouble. She  _ had  _ to do something, anything!

Her eyes trailed the beach, and she saw it. Asmos’ gun, likely discarded at some point during the fight. Without another thought, she rushed for it, nearly falling over from trying to run on the sand. Collapsing near the gun, she tore it out of the sand. It might not hurt, or kill Asmos, but it’ll be enough of a distraction that Egoraptor can recover.

Suzy lifted the gun, trying her best to aim the barrel towards Asmos. The little switch in the handle must be how to fire it, like a normal gun. 

Amsos was touching her wristband again, her fatigue leaving sooner than Suzy thought. Maybe the wristband is the source of her power.

Deciding that was a better idea than nothing, she aimed a little lower, taking a breath, then firing. The shot pushed the gun back, blasting it over her shoulder and away. She hadn’t expected it to be that powerful. Luckily for her, it worked anyway, hitting the wristband almost exactly.

Asmos started yelling, grabbing at the wrist band. A light encompassed her, shining almost too bright to see. Then, suddenly, she and the light were gone. On the other end of the beach, the man collapsed, presumably dead or defeated.

Suzy’s prideful feeling was short-lived. A burning pain erupted from the disk on her chest, spreading just like the numbing sensation. It tore a scream from her throat, her vision started getting spotty. 

She heard Egoraptor scream her name, but wasn’t aware he’d gotten up until he was right next to her, pushing her to lay down on the cool sand. His presence was warm, comforting, so she relented.

“Shit, okay, shit. You’re gonna be okay. Brian, get that stupid disk off her!” Egoraptor stood and scrambled off somewhere else.

Egoraptor was replaced with Pirate Brian. He put his fingers on his temples and glared at the disk. Danny crouched next to him, looking worried and a little beat up.

“Ego, what happened?”

Egoraptor came back, holding Asmos’ gun and fiddling with a little wheel on the side. Something about him looked off to Suzy. His eyes off colored, two masses where his ears should be that Suzy couldn’t make out very well. 

“A fail safe. The wrist-computer is connected to the disk. It marks a target. If the computer gets destroyed, it’ll kill the target with poison to prevent any revenge missions or something.”

The disk fizzled and puffed under Brian’s glare. Brian picked it carefully off her chest and gave it to Danny.

Suzy’s vision was going dark, she was getting light headed. Ego pressed the barrel of the gun against the spot where the disk was. He pulled the trigger, and it hissed air again. The area started to tingle and prickle, but no longer painfully.

“Yidian is probably back at her ship.” Egoraptor continued talking, tugging his crystal necklace out of Suzy’s skirts with one hand to put back around his neck. “She’ll need just a minute to recover, especially since Suzy shot her stabiliser. But once she’s recovered, she’s going to attack again.”

“What do we do?” Danny and Brian both watched egoraptor, awaiting his plan. It was strange, the King being the follower.

“When I’m done here, take Suzy back to her tavern. Tell them she’s been poisoned, but just needs to rest. Brian, dispose of Kolhet’s body. Dump it in the ocean, or something. I’m gonna hop in my ship and keep Yidian from causing anymore trouble. Join me when you’re done.”

He removed the gun from Suzy’s chest. In her fight to remain conscious, she could see him frowning. Ego leaned over and kissed her forehead, soft and gentle. “You’re going to be okay,” He whispered.

After a second of this he stood, backing away. Brain tossed him his leather satchel from who knows where, and he caught it with ease, slipping it over his shoulder. He dug inside, putting the gun in and drawing out a small, rounded object. It had a button on it.

“Get her out of here.” Ego pressed a button on the device, and became blurry. His image wavered, then disappeared.

When he was gone, Danny picked Suzy off the sand, bridal style. Brian grabbed his shoulders, and they became swarmed in the same smoke from earlier. When it cleared they were in the middle of town, presumably near the tavern. Danny started to jog down the street towards The TableFlip.

Finally, Suzy’s grasp on her consciousness grew weak, and she succumbed to the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took... Too long to write. But its done and 3,000 words! Wow!   
> Don't worry, the good vibes will return soon. First though I may write a chapter from Egoraptors POV, who knows


	14. The Night the Stars Were Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stars were falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man! I struggled to write. I was gonna write a chapter from Egos POV, but I didn't have enough ideas. (Instert shrug here)

The next 24 hours were ones the people of Jyriam would talk about for years to come.

Those still awake that night, eyes to the sky, witnessed flying stars. Crisscrossing across the sky, coming from everywhere and nowhere.

They woke others with their exclamation, more and more villagers crowding outside. Most of them assumed this was a divine message, sent straight from heaven.

One of the stars hit something hidden in the great expanse of darkness in the sky, causing an explosion of light that brightened every dark corner of that little kingdom.

The villagers were rightfully terrified, sure this was their demise.

When the light dimmed, the night sky grew still. Everyone who had awoken to watch, and cower, at the spectacle eventually returned to their beds, fearful of gods and heavenly wrath.

When the morning came, there was frightful news. King Danny was missing from his room.

A kingdom wide search yielded very little. All they knew was a scuffle had happened on the beach, with pieces of torn rope, seared clothes, and blood littering the sand.

They assumed he'd been killed, or captured. Perhaps from the pirates that had recently been around the island.

The only villager who knew what had happened on the beach that night didn't even know he was missing until another day later. Two whole days after the falling of the stars.

Suzy awoke, hurting all over and sick to her stomach, to the worried faces of her friends.

They told her that the King pounded on the tavern door, with her unconscious in his arms. He'd told them she'd been poisoned, but would be okay with some rest.

That had been just before the sky lit up with the shooting stars. Danny had looked up, and ran up without further explanation.

It didn't explain the scrapes and bruises she had all over. They pestered her, and Suzy decided to insist she didn't remember anything.

Yet, she did. She remembered it all. The strange people with the glowing eyes, the way they spoke about Egoraptor, the fight. 

Some part of her knew the falling stars were Egoraptor and Asmos' doing.

When she was well enough to stand, Holly started questioning her about her hair.

"My hair?" Suzy had questioned back, rather offended. She was just poisoned, her hair wasn't going to be orderly.

Ross had picked up the nearest reflective object- a little metal plate for putting candles on- and gave it to her.

She had a blond streak in her hair, curling down the side, clashing with the dark black the rest of it was.

Suzy could never explain to them why she had thrown the tray.

She'd never be able to explain why she started crying so hard, either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suzy is very sad, but don't worry, it'll get better.


	15. Suzy is Doing Her Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suzy is trying very hard to move on with her life. Her friends are supportive, but Ross is also Ross.

Suzy had lost track, at this point, how long Egoraptor had been gone. She counted the days for a while- nearly three weeks- before giving up. 

Even without counting time, she had moments where she was acutely aware of how much time had passed. Nearly a month and a half. 

Any time anyone mentioned the Former-King Danny in passing, she was hit with such a visceral feeling that left her in her head the rest of the day. After the third time it had happened early on, Ross confronted her in private and managed to get some answers. 

He already knew a fair amount about Egoraptor, so there wasn’t much harm in telling him a short and heavily simplified version of the truth.

Egoraptor was a mysterious man with enemies, some of those enemies were pirates, they kidnaped Suzy so she’d give them Ego’s weaknesses. Ego- along with his friend, The King, and a strange pirate- came to her rescue, dropped her off, then never returned.

Unable to explain the new hair color, she just left it out of the story entirely. All Ross had to know was that Suzy was torn between being sad or furious over Egoraptor's disappearance.

Ross was a fairly good person to tell. He was supportive in his own special way, cracking jokes and keeping Suzy's mind off the whole thing.

He was even supportive when Suzy started thinking about leaving, feeling she had enough money to do so. Teasing, 'Thank God, it's terrifying sleeping in the same building as you.'

It was clear he didn't mean it.

Holly and Barry were supportive as well. Holly insisted that if she were leaving, they had to spend one more day out, pursuing the few shops on the island and making charms near the beach. At the shops, Holly bought Suzy a few things. A brand new quill and some fresh paper (Intending for her to write to Holly when she was able.)

The charms were for luck and good fortune, Suzy only groaned a little, happy her friend cared for her, whether or not she believed in their use. It was a lovely day out, hot, but just barely cool enough to withstand comfortably.

They got back to the tavern as the sun was setting over the sea, casting a lovely light over the town. 

Upon returning, Suzy went right upstairs to put away her new gifts, setting them in her desk drawer next to that little carving knife. She’d found it in the drawer after she woke up, cleaned and in its sheath.

Running her finger over the side of the knife, frowning in thought, Suzy was content to just drift away into her thoughts. Ross’ voice at her door startled her from doing so. 

“Heyyyyy Suzy?” He sounded guilty.

Suzy shut the drawer, effectively shutting out any bad thoughts as well. She opened her door, just a little, shooting Ross a suspicious glare. “What did you do this time?”

“What makes you think I did anything!?”

She held her glare, and he shrunk down beneath it, despite being so much taller.

“Yeah, okay. Can I come in?”

Ross walked through after Suzy moved aside, crossing the room and leaning against the window, of all places.

“Don’t be upset.”

“That isn’t a phrase I enjoy you starting conversations with. What did you do?” Suzy trudged over as well, turning her desk chair until it faced Ross, then plopping down in it. Her exasperation was clear on her face.

“Well… You know that man you kept telling me about? Egofaptor or whatever?” Suzy nodded, slow. “He came by the tavern this morning. Looking for you. Said he wanted to explain himself. Barry wasn’t at the counter, and I remembered you were super angry with this guy, so I told him you didn’t live here anymore. He left.”

Ross grinned his evil little grin, shrugging and putting his hands up. He avoided Suzy’s eyes, grin faltering when she just gaped at him.

Without warning, she stood, throwing open her desk drawer and pulling out the carving knife. Ross shrank back against the window when he realised what she had, dropping his hands.

“Woah, Suzy, I’m sorry-”

She ignored him, turning back to the door. “I’m going out. “Whether or not I stab you when I get back is to be decided.”

Sometimes she really,  _ really _ hated Ross.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant for this to be longer, but I gotta stop ending chapters with Suzy going to sleep. (Which would have happened if this were longer) Its a habit I intend to break at some point.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave your comments if you have anything to say about this! They are appreciated!


End file.
